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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25097665">Whatever It Takes</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChaoticLesbian/pseuds/ChaoticLesbian'>ChaoticLesbian</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Marvel [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV), Criminal Minds (US TV), Marvel, Marvel (Comics), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Supergirl (TV 2015), The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Anxiety, Anxiety Attacks, Attempted Kidnapping, Attempted Murder, Auntie Nat, Avengers Compound, Avengers Family, Avengers Tower, Awesome Clint Barton, BAMF Maria Hill, BAMF Natasha Romanov, Bisexual Female Character, Bisexual Male Character, Bisexual Natasha Romanov, Bisexuality, Blood and Injury, Blood and Violence, Brainwashing, Ceiling Vent Clint Barton, Christmas Fluff, Christmas Party, Clint Barton &amp; Natasha Romanov Friendship, Dark Past, Domestic Avengers, Dreams and Nightmares, Emily and Maria are sisters because that sounds unrealistic but totally aodrable, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Episode: s06e18 Lauren, Eventual Smut, F/F, F/M, Flashbacks, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Smut, Gay Panic, Gun Violence, Holidays, Hurt Maria Hill, Hurt Natasha Romanov, Hurt No Comfort, Hurt/Comfort, Ian doyle is an ass, Implied/Referenced Brainwashing, Injury, Injury Recovery, Kidnapping, Lesbian Character, Lesbian Maria Hill, M/M, Major Character Injury, Major Original Character(s), Maria Hill Feels, Mind Control, Mind Control Aftermath &amp; Recovery, Mind Games, Mind Manipulation, Minor Character Death, Minor Injuries, Minor Violence, Missions Gone Wrong, Multi, Murder, Natasha Romanov Feels, Natasha Romanov Is Not A Robot, Natasha Romanov Is a Good Bro, Natasha Romanov Needs a Hug, Natasha Romanov Whump, Not Captain America: Civil War (Movie) Compliant, Pagan Character, Paganism, Panic Attacks, Past Abuse, Past Brainwashing, Past Child Abuse, Past Lives, Past Torture, Past Violence, Post-Avengers (2012), Post-Episode: s06e18 Lauren, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Protective Clint Barton, Protective Maria Hill, Protective Natasha Romanov, Recovery, Red Room (Marvel), Rescue Missions, Serious Injuries, Smut, Social Anxiety, Spoilers for Episode: s06e18 Lauren, Thanksgiving, Thanksgiving Dinner, Threats of Violence, Undercover Missions, Violence, blackhill - Freeform, i dont like her, they were each others comfort growing up, this is an ambassador prentiss hate account</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 06:01:08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>20,954</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25097665</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChaoticLesbian/pseuds/ChaoticLesbian</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Natasha Romanoff, tried not to let other peoples words define her but when it feels that the whole world is against you, it's hard to ignore. After the hulk tries to kill her, it sparks a series of panic attacks, each one taking a bit of her strength and confidence with it. She knows that she could never tell anyone, they would judge her and she refused to show any sign of vulnerability, that is until Maria sees first hand how hard Natasha's Mental struggle is. Maria sees a side to Natasha that no one else has. Her vulnerable side. Shes sat with her though the panic attacks and the hardships, She knows more about Natasha than anyone. But with disasters hitting earth left, right and centre and with both of them being at the hands of death pretty often, could they ever defy the odds of being together?</p><p>I don't own any character apart from Lauren Alex and some S.H.E.I.L.D agents</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Alphonso "Mack" Mackenzie/Yo Yo Rodriguez, Clint Barton &amp; Cooper Barton, Clint Barton &amp; Lila Barton, Clint Barton &amp; Natasha Romanov, Clint Barton &amp; Nathaniel Pietro Barton, Clint Barton &amp; Phil Coulson, Clint Barton/Laura Barton, Cooper Barton &amp; Laura Barton, Cooper Barton &amp; Natasha Romanov, Emily Prentiss &amp; Natasha Romanov, Jemma Simmons &amp; Skye | Daisy Johnson, Jennifer "JJ" Jareau/Emily Prentiss, Kara Danvers &amp; Natasha Romanov (Marvel), Kara Danvers/Lena Luthor, Lance Hunter/Bobbi Morse, Laura Barton &amp; Lila Barton, Laura Barton &amp; Natasha Romanov, Laura Barton &amp; Nathaniel Pietro Barton, Lena Luthor &amp; Natasha Romanov (Marvel), Leo Fitz &amp; Jemma Simmons, Leo Fitz/Jemma Simmons/Skye | Daisy Johnson, Lila Barton &amp; Natasha Romanov, Loki &amp; Thor (Marvel), Maria Hill &amp; Emily Prentiss, Maria Hill &amp; Natasha Romanov, Maria Hill &amp; Original Female Character(s), Maria Hill &amp; Steve Rogers, Maria Hill/Natasha Romanov, Michelle Jones/Peter Parker, Natasha Romanov &amp; Thor, Natasha Romanov &amp; Tony Stark, Natasha Romanov (Marvel)/Original Female Character(s), Natasha Romanov (Marvel)/Reader, Nathaniel Pietro Barton &amp; Natasha Romanov, Nick Fury &amp; Maria Hill, Nick Fury &amp; Natasha Romanov, Original Female Character/Original Female Character, Pepper Potts &amp; Tony Stark, Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, Peter Parker &amp; Natasha Romanov, Peter Parker &amp; Tony Stark, Phil Coulson &amp; Maria Hill, Phil Coulson &amp; Natasha Romanov, Phil Coulson/Melinda May, Wanda Maximoff &amp; Natasha Romanov</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Marvel [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1808962</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>56</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Battle Of New York P1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Maria sat in shied interrogation, speaking with the council.<br/>
"You want to know what went wrong? How this horror. This catastrophe could have been averted." She started<br/>
"A lot of people are dead Agent hill. Somebody had to answer for that"<br/>
"A lot of people have to answer for that."<br/>
"Nick Fury?"<br/>
The agent breathed in harshly and shook her head.<br/>
"That man."<br/>
"You filed several reports criticising director Furys actions since you joined S.H.I.E.L.D."<br/>
"Because he's reckless. We're at war and he thinks about superhero's."<br/>
"The avengers?"<br/>
"God. Who would bring those people together and not expect what happened."<br/>
Images flashed through her mind and she tried to forget them. But it wasn't that easy.<br/>
"You have to understand there are aspects of this instance that are difficult for most people to accept."<br/>
"Fury says to me once, in the time of gods and monsters, what is the worth of a man? I don't know what he means. And then men are dying all around. Good men. Friends. Even some hero's.<br/>
"So it's safe to say mistakes were made in the handling of the incident."<br/>
"Mistakes? God, that's all there was. A series of astonishing mistakes. And the worst of all..."<br/>
She trailed off, memories of the day still fresh in her mind. The screaming, the smoke, the fire, the pain, the blood. The pure terror clearly shown on so many people. She could still feels the rocks crushing the car. Debris falling on top of her. The noise. The deafening silence of being trapped under the rocks.<br/>
"Agent hill?"<br/>
"Agent hill?"<br/>
She could hear the council members trying to talk and get her attention but she was stuck in a continuous loop of memories.</p><p>10 hours earlier</p><p>Natasha sat against the stone crate, hoping to calm down. She thought She was going to die, everything flashed in her mind as Banner, or The Hulk, was swinging his arm back. Thor rushed in and threw him through the walls but she couldn't calm down, her anxiety was just getting worse and worse and her breaths shorter and shorter. She felt the walls closing in on her and she struggled to breathe. Her vision was getting hazy. She had no idea what was going on. She crossed her arms and held each hand. Crossing them under so both her hands were rested on her chest and she tried to control her breathing. She heard an explosion from above and finally managed to gain control of her breathing and her mind became clear again. She listened to the voice coming over the comms,<br/>
"It's Barton. He took out our systems. He's headed for the detention level. Does anybody copy?" Fury asked.<br/>
Hearing Clint's name Nat remembered what Loki said about him.<br/>
***<br/>
"I won't touch Barton not until I make him kill you. Slowly. Intimately. In every way he knows you fear."<br/>
***<br/>
"This is agent Romanoff. I copy." The agents body was still shaking but she made herself get over it. She had to help. The redhead sprinted down to the detention level as quick as she could. She snuck up behind Clint. He swung round and aimed his bow but he wasn't  enough. Tasha grabbed the end and tried to aim it away from her. They started to fight but she wasn't going to let him beat her. If she could just find a way to break him out of Loki's spell. She knew Stark and Rodgers were fixing the ship but where was Thor? Was he still fighting Hulk or was he with Loki? She had no idea. She focused all her attention back to Clint when he kicked her in the stomach, making her jump back in shock. Before she knew it he had a knife to her throat trying to kill her. She did the only thing she could think of and she bit him. He dropped the knife and she tried to escape from his grasp. She flipped over his arm and swung his head into the metal railing. He fell to the floor, grunting in pain. He slowly knelt up and she eyed him carefully.<br/>
"Natasha?" He asked weakly.<br/>
But was this him? Or was he still under The god of Mischiefs spell. His eyes were still blue but it was like tiny bit of his humanity coming through. The Russian decided not to risk it and punched him straight in the face, knocking him backwards. He passed out on the floor in front of her and she let out a breath, sitting down. Everything had gone wrong in the space of a minute. She sat there staring into space, Clints unconscious body laid next to her when she heard something that killed her on the inside.<br/>
"Agent Coulson is down."<br/>
She felt the tears rise. Everybody at SHIELD had a soft spot for Coulson and his hilarious obsession over Steve. Everyone liked him, no one could deny that. She had known him since she was first brought to S.H.I.E.L.D. Memories of her and Clint hanging around his office on down days and playing pranks where they could. Other voices came over the Comm while a medical team dragged Clint's body away.<br/>
"A medical team is on its way to your location."<br/>
"They're here. They called it."<br/>
Natasha struggled to hold back tears as her breath became ragged and she knew the others were feeling the same. Though She doubted they were thinking the same about her. To them she was a good for nothing, stuck up heartless bitch. Although none of them said it to her face, she knew that's what they all thought of her. Everyone did. Hell, even she did. She lent her head back on the big metal tubes behind her and quickly tried to wipe away a few stray tears. Time passed. It felt like days when In reality, it was only a few minutes. She listened to what Fury said to Steve and Tony. The redhead couldn't bring herself to move, it was like she wasn't in control of her body anymore. She eventually stood up and headed to where they took Barton. She sat down beside him. He looked peaceful. He suddenly started to panic, trying to free his arms. She knew for both their sakes, she had to remain calm.<br/>
"Clint, you're going to be alright." Natasha said softly.<br/>
He was blinking hard and pulling against the wrist restraints.<br/>
"You know that? Is that what you know?" He asked. He was panting now but had stopped trying to break free.<br/>
"I've got no window. I have to flush him out." He said. She guessed he was talking about Loki's spell.<br/>
"You've got to level out, it's going to take time." The spy was now stood by his head, pouring herself a drink.<br/>
"You don't understand. Have you ever had someone take your brain and play? Pull you out and stuff something else in? Do you know what it's like to be unmade?" His voice had calmed and he was staring up at her. She turned to face him, her face blank, void of expression.<br/>
"You know that I do."<br/>
He lent forwards, still panting.<br/>
"Why am I back? How did you get him out?"<br/>
"Cognitive re-calibration. I hit you really hard on the head." She replied sitting down by his legs on the bed.<br/>
"Thanks."<br/>
She smiled slightly and undid his wrist restraints.<br/>
"Natasha? How many agents did I..."<br/>
"Don't." The redhead cut him off, knowing what he was going to ask.<br/>
"Don't do that to yourself, Clint. This is Loki. This is monsters and magic, and nothing we were ever trained for."<br/>
"Loki, did he get away?"<br/>
"Yeah. I don't suppose you know where?"<br/>
"I didn't need to know. I didn't ask."<br/>
She stood up and he swung his legs over the side of the bed.<br/>
"He's going to make his play soon though. Today."<br/>
"We've got to stop him."<br/>
"Yeah? who's we?"<br/>
"I don't know. Whoever's left."<br/>
"Well I. If I put an arrow through Loki's eye socket, I would sleep better, I suppose."<br/>
Natasha walked over and sat next to him, smiling just slightly despite all that had happened.<br/>
"Now you sound like you."<br/>
He turned to her and returned her slight smile.<br/>
"But you don't. You're a spy, not a soldier. Now you want to wade into a war. Why? What did Loki do to you."<br/>
Flashes of their conversation crossed her mind but she shoved them further down, trying to forget them.<br/>
"He. He didn't. I just..."<br/>
She turned away from him, fiddling with her fingers, staring down into her lap.<br/>
"Natasha." His voice was barely a whisper.<br/>
"I've been compromised. I got red in my ledger. I would like to wipe it out." They both just stared at the wall in a comfortable silence.<br/>
"Coulson died. Loki killed him."<br/>
"What?"<br/>
She nodded slowly.<br/>
A silence filled the room once again.</p><p>"Time to go." Steve said, walking through the door to Clints room.<br/>
"Go where?"<br/>
"I'll tell you on the way. Can you fly one of those jets?"<br/>
Clint walked out the bathroom.<br/>
"I can."<br/>
Steve looked from Clint to Natasha and the spy nodded. He turned back to Clint<br/>
"You got a suit."<br/>
"Yeah."<br/>
"Then suit up."<br/>
He left and both Clint and Natasha to get geared up.</p><p>They met back up with Steve, walking through the S.H.I.E.L.D. Base towards the jets. A sense of determination eloping them all, it felt like something out of a movie. When the characters walk in slow motion with some kind of dramatic music behind them. They came aboard one of the jets. The worker stood in front of, a little intimidated by them.<br/>
"Hey, you guys aren't authorised to be in here." He stuttered.<br/>
"Son, just don't." Steve replied sternly.<br/>
He ran off the ship and the trio sat down.<br/>
"Strap in." Clint said before firing up the engines.</p><p>"Stark, we're on your three, headed northeast." Natasha said through the comm as they arrived in New York. She looked up to see the opened portal being supported by an energy beam from the Tesseract.<br/>
"What? Did you stop for drive through? Swing up park. I'm going to lay them out for you." The redhead could see a red and green spot on-top of Stark towers. Loki and Thor. She could also see the Chitauri fighters following Tony. She relayed his message to the guys and, deployed the gun. Just as they came to an end of the row of buildings, Tony flew past, The Chitauri behind him, giving them a clear shot of the off worlders. They flew up and tried shooting every Chitauri they could but there were so many and more were coming.<br/>
They flew next to the balcony on Stark towers to see Thor and Loki fighting.<br/>
"Nat?" Clint asked, watching the two brothers.<br/>
"I see him."<br/>
Barton turned the ship to face Loki and Natasha kept her thumbs hovered over the fire buttons. But before they could get a shot the Asgardian fired a blast from his staff, exploding the left wing. They all jerked forward from the impact. They were going down.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. The Battle Of New York Pt2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Natasha tried to see out the window but smoke had eloped the Jet. It started to tilt and drop, terrifying its three flyers. Steve grabbed onto the bars, his knuckles turning white from how hard he was holing them. He was relatively surprised he hadn't broken them. Natasha jolted around in her seat, hitting her head on both the control panels in front of her and the back of her seat. The craft went into a heavy decline as they plummeted towards the ground. The wings clipped the buildings and Clint tried to steady the landing. They smashed into the ground and the debris flew up coving the Jet on impact. It stopped skidding just in front of a building and the trio quickly jumped out of their seats and onto their feet. They walked quickly out the back of the Jet into the panicking crowds. They rounded the corner and saw the Stark tower standing proud in front of them. The city was in chaos. </p><p>"We've got to get back up there!" Steve shouted. They raced on and stopped in front of the bank, slowly looking up at the chaos above. The Chitauri Leviathan's had started to come through the portal. It looked like a snake mixed with a dragon. They all stood staring open mouthed in shock and horror. It flew right over their heads, smashing into whatever was in its way. The Chitauri fighters  started jumping off the side of it, armed and ready to fight. Their claws secured them as they caught and held on to buildings.<br/>"Stark, are you seeing this?" Steve asked.<br/>"Seeing. Still working on believing. Where's Banner? Has he shown up yet?"<br/>"Banner?" Steve questioned.<br/>"Just keep me posted."</p><p>Steve, Nat and Clint all crouched behind an abandoned taxi, using it as a cover until they knew how to proceed.<br/>"We've got civilians still trapped up their," Tony stated over the comms.<br/>"Loki." Steve said to himself as the god of mischief exploded the road and all that was on it. Not caring who he hurt in the process.<br/>"They're fish in a barrel down there." Steve said as one of the Chitauri  shot at him and the two assassins . Natasha fired her guns from her position and Clint hid behind the taxi with his bow and arrows.<br/>"We got this. It's good. Go." Natasha said to Steve, trying to hide the panic in her voice.<br/>"Do you think you can hold them off?" He asked the two assasains.<br/>"Captain," Clint started as he prepared an arrow, "It would be my genuine pleasure."<br/>He shot the arrow at one of the Chitauri in an on coming group. Nat stood up next to him, shooting any Chitauri in sight while Steve ran. He jumped off the bridge, shots following him. Nat held the Chitauri back while Clint helped a group of people trapped on a bus. Once they were all of he joined her in shooting them.<br/>"Just like Budapest all over again."  She said with a grin.<br/>"You and I remember Budapest very differently." He replied, still shooting at the on coming attacker's. They kept shooting them from behind the taxi, not knowing where the others were, or if they were safe.</p><p>The off world assailants pushed forward meaning the trio had to use shorter range fighting tactics. Clint Attacked them with an arrow and  Natasha used any weapon she could get her hand on and Steve rejoined them as they fought back to back. A bolt of lightning knocked out three coming towards them and Thor flew down from the sky. <br/>"What's the story upstairs?" Steve asked Thor.<br/>"The power surrounding the cube is impenetrable." He replied.<br/>"Thors right, we've got to deal with these guys." Tony said over comms. <br/>"How do we do this?" Nat asked.<br/>"As a team." Steve answered.<br/>"I have unfinished business with Loki." Thor stated. <br/>"Yeah we'll get in line." Clint said, preparing another arrow. <br/>"Save it. Loki's fight to keep this fight focused on us and that's what we need. Without him, these things could run wild. We've got Stark up top. He's going to need us to." A spluttering engine interrupted Steve's pep talk. They all looked over to see banner arriving on a motorcycle and walked over to where he was departing.<br/>"So, this all seems horrible." He said as they approached.<br/>"I've seen worse." Natasha said sadly. The memories of him attacking her still fresh on her mind. Okay maybe it wasn't him as such and the huge green guy with anger issues he shares a life with but still.She was scared. And whenever she got scared she turned it into rage. She was never going to appear weak. Especially not to these guys. <br/>"Sorry." He nodded.<br/>"No, we could use a little worse." The redhead admitted.<br/>"Stark, we got him." Steve told Tony.<br/>"Banner?" He asked in return.<br/>"Just like you said."<br/>"Then tell him to suit up, I'm bringing the party to you"<br/>They all looked up to see tony suddenly fly around the corner, The Chitauri Leviathan and Chitauri fighters on his six. <br/>"I don't see how that's a party." Nat stated.<br/>They got closer and closer.<br/>Banner walked towards it.<br/>"Dr banner!" Steve called after him. <br/>"Now might be a really good time for you to get angry."<br/>Banner turned to face us.<br/>"That's my secret captain. I'm always angry." With that he started to transition into the hulk. The Leviathan collided with his fist, slowly sending him backwards along the road and even closer to the team. It started to flip. Nat was running multiple scenarios through her head, even if theyran, they would still be trapped under it and most likely squashed to death.</p><p>"Hold on!" Tony called out as he flew above them, firing a blast from his suited hand. Clint ran behind a taxi as Steve protected himself and Natasha. The broken shards exploded above them, scattering debris everywhere. The Chitauri started screeching, turning towards the group and charging. They all stood in a circle back to back, weapons drawn ready to fight. Nat loaded her gun and prepared herself to shoot the little shits as they came near. She looked up at the portal to see even more coming through.<br/>"Guys," She warned.<br/>"Call it captain," tony said.<br/>"Alright listen up." Steve said, walking forward.<br/>"Until we can close that portal, our priority is containment. Barton, I want you on that roof. Eyes on everything. Call out patterns and strays. Stark, you got the perimeter. Anything gets more than three blocks out, you turn it back or you turn it to ash." He commanded.<br/>"Can you give me a lift?" Clint asked tony.<br/>"Right. Better clench up, Legolas." He held on to clints back and flew upwards.<br/>"Thor, you've got to try and bottleneck that portal. Slow them down. You've got lightning. Light the bastards up." He instructed. Thor flew and up and Steve turned to Nat.<br/>"You and me, we stay here on the ground. We keep the fighting here. And hulk."<br/>Hulk turned swiftly at hearing his name. Steve pointed upwards.</p><p>"Smash."<br/>Hulk smiled and jumped onto the building to their left, smashing all of The Chitauri intruders that were clinging onto it. Storm clouds gathered over head and lightning was attracted to what Nat presumed was Thor's hammer. It struck upwards at the portal, killing and destroying what came through. Steve and Nat fought as many of The Chitauri as they could. One managed to sneak up behind Natasha and threw her on the bonnet of the closest car.<br/>"Dick move dipshit." She grunted, wrapping her around its neck and jabbing at its armour. It lead her back on the bonnet and she untangled herself long enough to grab one of their staffs and blast it. She heard a movement behind her and aimed it at what she thought was a Chitauri fighter. Steve landed in front of her and the assassin breathed a little sigh of relief. Her head throbbed and she could feel the blood seeping through the cut on her forehead. She lowered the staff as he walked towards her and she lent on the taxi bonnet, taking deep breaths. <br/>"Captain, none of this is going to mean a damn thing if we don't close that portal." The assassin sighed, looking up at the open breach in the sky.<br/>"Our biggest guns couldn't touch it." He replied.<br/>"Well maybe it's not about guns."<br/>"If you want to get up there, you're going to need a ride."<br/>"I've got a ride." She said with a smirk, walking to the other side of the bridge.<br/>"I could use a boost though," <br/>He stepped back.<br/>"Are you sure about this?"<br/>"Yeah. It's gonna be fun."<br/>He held his shield up and she sprinted towards him, leaping off a car bonnet and onto the shield. He launched it up, sending her upwards towards an oncoming flying chariot. She grabbed onto the side of it struggling to climb on it, her hands started to slip and her body was flailing around in the wind. Using a sudden urge of determination, she managed to pull herself aboard. The redhead pulled out her knife and swung it at The Chitauri. She span around and kicked him off, suddenly aware she had no idea how to control this thing. She managed to move upwards against the force of the wind hitting her body like a ton of bricks. She jumped onto the drivers back and dug her hands into it. <br/>"Okay, turn, turn."<br/>It turned sharply, smashing into a building.<br/>"Less! Less!"<br/>Nat could hear The Chitauri behind her firing and moments later being hit by something. Out the corner of her eye she saw Tony's suit and she let herself relax a tiny bit. He flew ahead and around the corner. She heard guns being fired and when she looked down, the army was there, firing at anything that didn't belong. Something shot at her and when she turned, Loki was right behind her.<br/>"Oh, you." He kept shooting at her as she tried to dodge.<br/>"Hawkeye!"<br/>"Nat, what are you doing?"<br/>"Uhhhh, a little help?"<br/>"I got him."<br/>She jumped off of the back of the chariot and rolled onto the roof of the Stark tower. Slowly getting up, she made her way towards the tesseract.<br/>"The sceptre"<br/>"Doctor."<br/>"Loki's sceptre. The energy. The tesseract can't fight. But you can't protect against yourself."<br/>"It's not your fault. You didn't know what you were doing."<br/>"Actually, I think I did. I built in a safety to cut the power source."<br/>"Loki's sceptre."<br/>"It May be able to close the portal. And I'm looking right at it."<br/>He said, turning to lean over edge to see the balcony.</p><p>Natasha walked back around to the doctor, Loki's sceptre in hand. He had a device set up.<br/>"Right at the crown!" He shouted. She aimed it where he pointed and the top started to spark, slowly breaking through the tesseract's protection shield.<br/>"I can close it, can anybody copy? I can shut the portal down."<br/>"Do it!" Steve shouted.<br/>"No! Wait!" Stark said.<br/>"Stark, these things are still coming!"<br/>"I've got a nuke coming in. It's gonna blow in less than a minute..... and I know just where to put it." <br/>Nat held the sceptre still, keeping the portal open.<br/>"Stark, you know that's a one way trip." Steve warned. <br/>She watched as Tony flew past with the nuke, up towards the open portal. He flew in, the nuke on his back.  She held her breath as she saw it explode. Knowing the city wouldn't be blown up was a relief but another wave of anxiety hit as they all waited anxiously for Tony to come back through. Natasha looked down and saw The Chitauri fall to the floor, dead, one after the other.  The Chitauri Leviathan's stopped flying, suddenly dropping and colliding with whatever was below them. She looked back up. Tony still wasn't through.<br/>"Come on Stark." The assassin muttered determinedly. He had to make it through.<br/>"Close it." Steve said sadly.<br/>Natasha shoved the sceptre forwards, cutting the tesseracts power to the portal. The portal started to close. Just as it sealed, a figure fell through. A smile tugged at her lips. He made it.<br/>"Son of a gun." Steve muttered. Confusion hit her. Why was he just falling? He was just picking up speed.<br/>"He's not slowing down!" Thor shouted. Suddenly out of no where, the Hulk appeared, grabbing Tony from the sky and scaling the closest building. Nat stood anxiously, waiting for someone to say something. But nothing was said, Just a silence. Hulks growl made her jump back in shock. <br/>"What the hell." Tony's voice came over the comm and she let out a weak laugh. He made it.<br/>"What just happened? Please tell me nobody kissed me." Natasha smiled and breathed a sigh of relief. The portal was closed, The Chitauri were dead, the nuke gone and Tony was alive. All they had to do was grab Loki. <br/>"We won." Steve said triumphantly. <br/>"All right yay. Hurray good job guys let's just not come in tomorrow. Let's just take the day off. Have you ever tried shawarma? There's a shawarma joint about two blocks from here. I don't know what it is but I want to try it." The redhead let out a quiet laugh.<br/>"We're not finished yet." Thor reminded.<br/>"And then shawarma after?" Tony asked. It was those kind of comments she think they all needed right now. A bit of normality after a crazy Chitauri invasion attack. She headed down to meet the group at the bottom of Stark tower and they all headed up to catch Loki together. From what she could guess, he would be a bit sore from Hulks attack on him. He sat up slowly and turned to see us them stood there. Clint with his arrow aimed at his face and his sceptre in Natashas hands.<br/>"If its all the same to you, I'll have that drink now." He said weakly.</p><p>They all sat watching news channel after news channel reporting on what happened and The Avengers. It gave the assassin a warm feeling inside. Yeah this was crazy, but fighting together, felt like some kind of odd dysfunctional family, but a family all the same.<br/>They all walked over to Thor on the bridge. He had Loki in cuffs, the tesseract in hand.<br/>The asgardian said goodbye to them all individually before he nodded, returning to Asgard.<br/>Banner and Tony drove off together, Steve drove off on his motorcycle and Nat rode passenger with Clint. They all headed their separate ways. Not knowing what would happen in the upcoming months.</p><p>Maria's POV<br/>"Agent hill?"<br/>Maria blinked hard.<br/>"Agent hill!"<br/>"You were saying...."<br/>She shook away the memories, trying to focus back on the conversation at hand.<br/>"Sorry, yes."<br/>"You said, the worst mistake."<br/>"Well, I think we all know who made that. You thought they were a threat. I thought they were a joke. Nick Fury only ever saw them as the avengers. No matter what he said. If he hadn't of seen that well, midtown Manhattan would be a smoking crater for one thing."<br/>"That issue is not in question at this time."<br/>The agent shook my head subtly.<br/>"It was absolutely a bad idea. The wrong people at the wrong time, and it worked. They came together and they saved us and it's infuriating. We're trained to believe in a system not to gamble, not to hope. Nick fury saw something running under the system, a current, a connection, a truth, About what we can do. What they would become. The avengers were the mistake that saved the world. That's my official statement."<br/>"I see."<br/>"Oh and um, as for the matter that's not in question, where you morons tried to nuke New York. Well that's on the record. As in we recorded it. We do that. We're shield."<br/>She stood with her hand on her hips. <br/>"So if you're thinking about coming after Nick Fury, ever, think really really hard." She said before walking away and down to the controls.<br/>"How did that go?" Fury asked.<br/>"Soldier down the river sir, should have your job within the month." The agent smirked slightly.<br/>"Good work. You should maybe ask for a cheer." He said.<br/>"Well I'll keep that in mind."<br/>They walked down towards the front of the helicarrier.<br/>"Sir, how does it work now? With the avengers? They've gone their separate ways, some pretty, extremely far. If we at into a situation like this again, what happens then?"<br/>"They'll come back."<br/>"Are you really sure about that?"<br/>"I am."<br/>"Why?"<br/>"Because we'll need them to." Maria smiled slightly before walking away. A hint of sadness ran through her, The avengers were gone, and for now, so was she.</p><p> </p><p>3 months Later<br/>Maria sat on call with Coulson. After his 'death' S.H.I.E.L.D.  managed to use alien tech to bring him back.<br/>"I'm guessing Hydra doesn't know Loki's sceptre was the weapon that killed me but I bet they know it can control minds."<br/>"In their hands, that's catastrophic. Coulson. Please tell me you know where it is."<br/>"Sokovia. I'm pretty sure the list is headed there right now. I just sent you everything I know on Strucker's location."<br/>"Coulson, final thing. Fada protocol. Is it ready?"<br/>"Yes it is. Time to bring in the avengers."</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Gone</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Three months later.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Natasha opened her eyes groggily, her head throbbing. She sat up quickly, crying out as the pain in her skull got worse. She looked around when all the memories flooded back, they had been raiding a hydra base. They had stolen Loki's Staff from S.H.I.E.L.D and she had just managed to get Hulk to calm down and turn back into Banner when she then got hit over the head and everything went dark. Natasha stood up slowly, taking in her surroundings. She was in a brick room, with bars keeping her trapped.</p><p>"You're awake." A voice grunted. The assassin spun to see someone in a black mask walking towards her. He opened the cage and she kept a fighting stance, the affect of the girl trapping her in her memories still having a downward affect. He quickly jumped closer, grabbing a fistful the the assassin's hair, dragging her forwards. She cried out despite trying to keep it in. What the hell. Where was she? She was dragged down a dark corridor, metal doors long each side of the wall. They approached an open one and he threw her in, causing her to barrel roll on the floor. He shut the door quickly, leaving her in the cold room. It had 4 stone walls with no window. A small mattress was in the corner of the room and a bucket in the other. She ran to the door, trying to pry it open but a jolt of electricity sent her jumping back. The redhead crawled to the corner, pulling her knees to her chest and hiding her face in her hands. There was no way out of this.</p><p>*an hour earlier*</p><p>"Guys I got Strucker." Cap called out.<br/>
"Yeah, I've got something bigger." Tony replied.</p><p>Clint was on the jet with Thor, heading back to avengers HQ. They were almost there when Banner's voice came over the earpiece.<br/>
"Does anyone know where Natasha is?" He asked, worriedly.<br/>
"I can't see her." Steve called out.<br/>
"Not with me either." Tony replied. Clint started to panic slightly.<br/>
"Agent Romanoff do you copy?" Tony asked.<br/>
Nothing.<br/>
"Guys..." Banner said hesitantly.<br/>
"What is it Banner?" Thor asked.<br/>
"Nat's earpiece. It's here. Next to..." He trailed off.<br/>
"Next to what banner?" Clint asked impatiently, his worry for Nat's safety building with every passing second.<br/>
"Blood."<br/>
His breathing got heavier.<br/>
"Please tell me it's not hers." Steve called. Silence.<br/>
"I don't know. The chances are, it probably is."</p><p>Clint was all patched up and sat around a table with the other avengers in the conference room.<br/>
"Why don't we call Fury? He might know someone who can help." He suggested.<br/>
"At the moment, that's our only plan so we are going with it. Barton? You good to call him? We're going to continue seeing if we can get any leads." Steve asked.<br/>
"On it." Clint walked outside, his back lent against the glass panes of the conference room. The phone rang twice before it was answered.<br/>
"Agent Barton?" Fury asked.<br/>
"We need your help, Fury. Someone's taken Natasha. I'm guessing someone powerful. Not only that, They still have Loki's sceptre. Is there anyone you know that could help?"<br/>
"I know who to call. It might take her a while to get here, you know how unpredictable her schedule can be."<br/>
"I know, Thank you."<br/>
"Keep me updated Agent Barton. We will do everything we can to help you find her." He ended the call and the archer walked back in.<br/>
"What did he say?" Banner Asked asked.<br/>
"He is calling Carol in. He said it might take a while for her to get here."<br/>
"Then until she does, we keep searching." Banner said determinedly.</p><p>Fury ended the call with Barton and pulled out the communicator Carol had given him all that time ago.<br/>
"Here goes nothing." He said to himself. After he'd contacted her he made an announcement to keep a lookout for Agent Romanoff. She was one of their strongest fighters so something told him that this wasn't going to be easy. He had one more call to make. The director dialled the number and waited for her to pick up.<br/>
"Fury, sir?"<br/>
"She's been taken."<br/>
"What! How did this happen?"<br/>
"They were fighting Hydra. The avengers found her Blood and earpiece."<br/>
"Im going to the compound."<br/>
"Be careful Agent Hill,"<br/>
"You too sir."</p><p>It had been 3 hours since Barton made the call and they still had nothing. No one had shown up apart from Hill, demanding how the hell this had happened. She put on a hard front but they all knew deep down she was extremely protective over Nat. They still couldn't find any leads. Barton's phone rang making them all jump suddenly.<br/>
"It's Fury." He announced, he placed his phone on the table and put it on speaker phone.<br/>
"Fury what have you got for us?" Steve asked.<br/>
"Your help is on her way. She was closer than anticipated. She should be there within a couple of minutes. We have everyone here doing everything they can to find Agent Romanoff. Something tells me this isn't easy. What about you guys?"<br/>
"Still nothing. We will keep you updated." Banner replied.<br/>
"Same here. We do have bad news, Baron Von Strucker. He's gone. I'm guessing back to Hydra." With that the Call ended and a blinding light outside made them shield their eyes. Once it died down, they all ran outside to find a woman, still glowing slightly.<br/>
"Are you?" Banner started to ask.<br/>
"Carol Danvers. Fury sent me." She replied.<br/>
"And was that?" Banner started to ask again.<br/>
"Yeah, I was hit by an explosion liked with the tesseract. I absorbed its power. Who are you?"<br/>
"I'm Banner. The hulk. That's Steve Rodgers aka Captain America. That's Tony Stark, Iron man, this is Thor Odinson and I’m guessing you already know  Barton and hill.<br/>
Thor slowly walked up to her and held his arm out. His hammer flew past Carols face and into his awaiting hand. Carol stood there un phased.<br/>
"I like this one." He said turning back to them.</p><p>Carol followed the avengers inside.<br/>
"What do we know about your missing Agent?" The blonde asked as they walked into their conference room.<br/>
"Agent Natasha Romanoff. Also known as the Black Widow. We were fighting a hydra base earlier today. They stole Thor's brother Loki's Sceptre. Agent Barton here was shot so Thor and himself headed back here before us to get help. The last thing we heard or saw of Natasha is when she was calming the hulk down. Getting him to turn back to Banner. After that, we found her earpiece and blood. Banner tested it and we're just waiting for the results." Steve informed her.<br/>
"The results are back," Banner started, joining them all.<br/>
"It came back positive. It's Natasha's blood."</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Past and Present</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Sorry this chapter is a little late. I'm heading home from the countryside. The journey is taking longer than anticipated and I'm still currently in the car. Its been 3 hour with non stop rain, I love UK weather...... anyway heres the next chapter x</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Any hope that was once in the room was now out the window. Everyone wore a solemn expression. Tony looked defeated, Steve looked terrified and Maria looked heartbroken, even though she tried to hide it. Carol looked over at Agent Barton.<br/>
"Have you tried listening to the radio frequencies. If she has managed to get a hold of something useful, she could use it to tell you where she is. Morse code style."<br/>
"Yeah, I have a station set up downstairs. Nothing." He said sadly. Carol nodded slowly. She knew just how much Natasha meant to SHIELD and her team.<br/>
"Here." A voice behind her said. She turned to Find Agent Hill Behind her. A folder in hand.<br/>
"Our records on Natasha. Anything that could potentially help find her." The blonde thanked her, taking the folder from her and taking it to sit at a chair with. She looked through. There was nothing about where she was raised.<br/>
"Anything?" Tony Stark asked.<br/>
"Why isn't there anything about her past?" Carol asked, not really answering his question.<br/>
"Thats one thing no one really knows about Natasha. Her parents died leaving her orphaned. She was raised by horrible people, turned into an assassin. Given the name Black Widow. Barton's mission was to kill her and hers was to kill him but he managed to bring her back here where she decided to help fight for us." Steve replied.<br/>
"These people she was raised by, Any link to Hydra?" Carol asked curiously.<br/>
"We don't know. The chances are yes. She was born and raised in Russia. The Hydra base we raided when she went missing had connections mainly in Russia." Banner said.<br/>
"How do you know that?" Thor asked and everyone turned to face Banner.<br/>
"After Natasha managed to turn Hulk back into me, i used a tablet to hack into their mainframe, knowing they would be trying to get rid of everything. It was the only thing I got out of it before everything was deleted." He explained.<br/>
"See Any names?" Carol asked.<br/>
"One Ivan Petrovitch. I looked him up. There's practically nothing known about him apart from his location somewhere in Russia." He replied, turning to face me.<br/>
"Then that's where we are headed."</p><p>Natasha didn't know how long she had been sat in the cell, staring at the wall for. It felt like hours. Time slowly slipping by, every second being dragged out, and every minute agonising. Suddenly the door swung open with a slam so loud it dented the air, and a man walked in. She recognized him. She knew that she had seen him but she couldn't pinpoint where. She moved in the furthest corner, her body shaking against her will.<br/>
"Look at her." He laughed before a smaller man walked in.<br/>
"Who would have thought, The infamous Black widow, sat shaking in the corner. Pathetic." With that he stepped closer and she felt the blow to her head before her vision went dark.</p><p>Natasha opened her eyes gently, the throbbing in her head slowly coming back to her. She looked around. She was still in the same room, this time however, she was alone and tied to a metal chair. The two guys from before walked in, smirk worn clearly on both their faces.<br/>
"Aww, Baron would you look at that." said the smaller guy.<br/>
Baron. Baron Von Strucker. S.H.I.E.L.D. gone Hydra agent. The guy Steve got at the base. How was he here?<br/>
"Our little widow is awake." Baron Laughed.<br/>
"Lock the Door Nick." Baron demanded to the smaller guy.<br/>
"We're going to have some fun." he laughed maniacally and at that point a realisation came to light for the assassin. Getting out, was going to be a lot harder than first anticipated.</p><p>The Avengers pulled up to a remote location in Russia. The place was surrounded by snow and in the Middle stood a little cottage.<br/>
"Thats where we're headed." Maria said before getting off the jet. The others followed closely behind, ready for an ambush. The agent pushed the door open but was met with an eerie silence. She stepped forward and walked through the house, coming into the living room to find a man sat in a chair staring at the crackling fire in-front of him.<br/>
"Ivan Petrovitch?" She asked and he span around at the speed of lightning.<br/>
"Avengers." He practically growled.<br/>
"We're here to ask about Natasha Romanoff." Maria said slowly, taking a cautious step forward. The others joining her in the room.<br/>
"Natalia?" He asked, his face softening and hardening all at the same time. Like hearing her name made him happy but he still had some kind of unresolved hatred towards her.<br/>
"Yeah. She has been Kidnapped and we're trying to find out who took her and where she is." Hill stated.<br/>
"And you think it was me?"<br/>
"Was it? You have connections to where she was last seen. Bit coincidental."<br/>
"You have no idea who I am to Natalia. Do you?" He asked, smirking slightly.<br/>
"Care to fill us in?" Thor asked.<br/>
"Sit. Its a long story."<br/>
Maria looked to the others cautiously and they nodded slightly. They all sat on wooden chairs waiting for Ivan to explain. He pulled something out of a draw before sitting down, the object hidden in his clenched fist<br/>
"I survived the brutal siege of Stalingrad during WW2. After, I searched the through the rubble of the city for survivors when I then heard a woman's cries from a burning balcony. The woman saw me running toward her and She dropped her child into my arms before she was engulfed in the flames. I caught the child and ran from the burning debris. When I took a closer look at the girl and I noticed she was wearing a locket bearing the Romanova family crest. I guessed that woman who I had just seen be burnt to death must have been Anastasia Romanova who had escaped the slaughter of her family. Natalias father having died in the war left her orphaned. I took the Child in as my own and gave her the name Natalia. she was so young. around five or six. I took her to the place i thought she belonged. The red room. They took in twenty eight little orphaned girls and trained them, day in, day out for the Black Widow operations program. I introduced Natasha to Madame B who is the headmistress in the Red Room. Madame B was looking for a worthy successor to become the next Black Widow. I trained Natasha and other worthy candidates in ballet as a means to heighten their agility and prowess while Madame B broke them of any moral constraints. I admit, I was a difficult taskmaster who expected nothing but the best from Natalia. She was our best spy and assassin. The girls all received a special treatment designed by a biochemist. The Kudrin treatment could make women stay young for many decades, as well as superhumanly healthy and resilient. After the graduation we gave her and the other few candidates that survived until the end targets, if they returned, target dead, they were rewarded. if not, punished. Our last target we were going to give her before sending her off to fight was You." He said before turning to Agent Barton, they were all on edge about hearing Natashas last from someone who wasn't her.<br/>
"You were her last mission but as you know, she was yours. You convinced her in Budapest to work for S.H.I.E.L.D. I became enraged so did Madame B. We put so much effort into grooming Natalia to become the Black Widow. Neither of us could accept this betrayal. We had protected her. While under our protection, many adversaries attempted to attack her, abduct her, kill her. After all. she was our best fighter. Baron von Stucker. He abducted her when she was thirteen. Tortured her in more ways you could imagine." Maria flinched and Carol put a hand comfortingly on her shoulder. Ivan either didn't notice the reaction or just didn't care, either way he continued with what he was saying:<br/>
"I saved her. After her betrayal, Madam B didn't trust me anymore. She thought I cared about Natalia too much and now that she had left i would either leave too or spread their secrets and so I left the red room, I left my adopted son to take my place. A few months after I left, I was contacted by Hydra, asking if i would work for them so i agreed. "<br/>
"Why are you telling us all of this?" Maria asked.<br/>
"Because as much as my alliance is with Hydra and still even the Red Room, as much as Natalia betrayed me. She is still a daughter to me and I still care about her. For who kidnapped her, Try Baron, I'm pretty sure he is working alongside both Hydra and The Red Room" He said sadly.<br/>
"Thank you." She said sincerely, standing to leave.<br/>
"Wait, before you go. When you find Natalia, Give this to her." He took her hand and placed a locket inside of it.<br/>
"It was the one she was wearing the day i found her, i want her to have it." Hill nodded before following the others out the door. She gave the locket to Carol while she checked up with Fury to update him. Just as they were about to fly up in the jet, the noise of a gunshot dented the air. They all looked over to see someone all dressed in black leaving the cottage. A message appeared on the screen of the control panel.<br/>
"He should have stayed quiet." Steve read out.<br/>
"Thats either someone from the red room or someone from Hydra." Maria stated.<br/>
"Either way, Ivan Petrovitch is dead, Banner, can you find any information  on Baron von Stucker? Where he might have headed once he escaped S.H.I.E.L.D my guess, if we find him, we find Nat too."<br/>
"On it."</p><p>Banner entered the last known location for Strucker into the navigation system. No one spoke, letting what Ivan had shared about Natasha sink in. Carol opened her hand and stared at the Locket. It was pure silver, a hourglass symbol in the middle with small decorations carved around it. She opened it up and saw a picture carefully placed on each side of the locket. On one, there was a picture of a man and a woman stood with a baby in their arms looking exceptionally happy and on the other side there was a picture of the same woman. Her stomach gave indication another baby was on the way. With her stood a toddler, probably around the age of four or five. Her guess was the first picture was taken when Natasha was born, the second was just before her mother and unborn sibling died. Her father already fighting in the war. Carols heart broke. Natasha had been through so much shit in her life time. She pulled a picture of her from her case file onto the screen in front of her. She didn't notice she had been staring until She heard Clints voice behind her.<br/>
"You okay?" He asked kindly<br/>
"Yeah, I'm just wondering how one person can go through so much shit and still manage to help save the world."<br/>
"Her methods aren't great. You know that."<br/>
"I know."<br/>
"She is my best friend. I Don't know what I would do without her."<br/>
"We will get her back. I promise." She smiled up at him and he returned it sadly. They still had a hour or two left on their journey. Carol sunk down on her chair wrapping the blanket closer around her freezing body. Banner had handed them to everyone to make sure they were warm against the coldness from outside. Maria was sat in the far corner, her blanket wrapped tightly around her shoulders. Her face held so many emotions. Carol looked around, everyone else ,apart from Tony who was driving, was sound asleep. The blonde wrapped her blanket tighter around her shoulders and walked over quietly to were the agent was sitting.<br/>
"You okay?" Carol asked softly, carefully sitting next to her.<br/>
"I'm fine."<br/>
"I don't believe you."<br/>
Her expression faltered.<br/>
"You're not gonna leave until you get the truth are you?" She asked sadly.<br/>
Carol nodded.<br/>
"I'm scared. I'm terrified for her. I know what Hydra and the Red Room does to people." Something snapped in her and her eyes filled with pain and darkness.<br/>
"Natasha and I, we're close. Or we were before she became an avenger. Work caught up to us both and our friendship kind of faded. She used to come round my apartment sometimes on our days off. I remember a couple of times in particular."</p><p>******<br/>
Maria sat on her sofa, bottle of cider in hand.<br/>
"Can I pick a movie this time?" Natasha whined. The agent laughed and handed her the remote. Her eyes lingered over the assassin's figure a little longer. Seeing this side to Natasha was nice. She was the only one who got to see it and it gave her a warm feeling in her stomach. Maris turned my attention back to the Tv as Natasha stopped on one of the saw movies.<br/>
"This looks okay?"<br/>
"Wait." Maria looked at her dumbfounded.<br/>
"Tasha, have you ever seen any of the saw films." Natasha looked at her for a moment before slowly shaking her head.<br/>
"That's it! We're watching this. You'll love it. They're really good movies,"<br/>
They were a few minutes in when the redhead turned to her.<br/>
"Shall we play a game?"<br/>
"Yeah that wait- what? How did you..." Maria turned to face her. She wore a smug smirk.<br/>
"You little shit! You have seen this movie!"<br/>
"Who hasn't seen this movie Hill?"<br/>
"Then why did you. You said you hadn't seen it."<br/>
"I did it to prank you at first, then you looked exited to show it to me and I couldn't bring myself to tell you I'd seen it thousands of times." They both burst into laughter as the pillow Maria threw, hit her square in the face.<br/>
******</p><p>Carol smiled as Maria went into memories about their times together. Anyone could tell by the look on her face that Natasha meant a lot to her.<br/>
"Truth is, I think I've always liked her, as maybe more than a friend. I just. I don't know what I would do without her." She said sadly. Carol scooted to sit by her side and She wrapped her arms around her. In all the times she'd returned to Earth to check up on Fury and everyone at S.H.I.E.L.D Maria had always been the most closed off and quiet ones.<br/>
"We will get her back safe."<br/>
"Promise?"<br/>
"Promise."<br/>
Truth be told, it worried Carol a little to see her so broken, vulnerable. With what they knew however, Carol didn't trust what state they would find the assassin in and suddenly her fears didn't seem so irrational.</p><p>Natasha's body throbbed. She could feel the blood running down the side of her face. She wanted to cry, To break down and let herself be free but she couldn't she physically couldn't and besides, if they saw her cry, she'd lost.</p><p>The avengers landed just outside of a small town in sokovia.<br/>
"Where is this place?" Carol asked.<br/>
"Up there." Tony pointed to the fortress on the hill.<br/>
"Thats where we last saw Natasha. Where we fought Hydra. Where we Captured Strucker."</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Home</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>They split into two teams after that. Alpha and Bravo. Maria took charge, her past in the army working to her advantage. Alpha team consisted of Maria, Steve and Carol. Bravo team then being Bruce, Tony, Thor and Clint. Bravo were going to search the town while the Alpha would go and search the Hydra Base. </p><p>Alpha team trekked up the hill, making sure to stay hidden in case there were any guards about. Maria's heart was racing. They snuck into the base, while they knew they had taken everyone else out earlier, they had no idea if anyone else had come back in. Maria split up From Carol and Tony, Slowly making her way down a spiral staircase.</p><p>Natasha stared into the abyss through the gaps in the door. She had tried escaping through multiple different methods but nothing had worked. She could make out the faint outline of a robot. A red steak ran down the side of its face. She heard faint footsteps and hid in the back corner. The footsteps were light yet cautious. They got louder and soon a voice came to match them.<br/>"Tasha?" The assassin recognized the voice instantly and breathed a sigh of relief.<br/>"Mia!" She called out the door. The footsteps got faster and soon Maria came around the corner.<br/>"Nat! Are you okay?"<br/>"Im fine, Do you have a way to get me out?" She nodded and her hand went to her comm.<br/>"Carol, head to me. I found her but need some assistance." She said before running over to her. The redhead could see the agents eyes darting over jet injuries. Maria was one of the agents she'd known the longest. She was there from the first day Barton had brought her into S.H.I.E.L.D. After a while, they'd became close friends, spent quite a bit of time together yet work caught up and they seriously drifted. It didn't mean Natasha didn't care for her because god She did. She really freaking liked  her. She'd known known for a while but she had no chance with her. One because She was the black widow, a murderous assassin, two she would never in a million years like her back. Carol came running around the corner and Natasha breathed another sigh of relief.<br/>"You might wanna step back." She warned before both Natasha and Maria took a few steps away. Soon the Carol's fist began to glow and a photon blast shot from it, crumbling the door as it hit. Natasha took a moment to stare in shock  before running into Marias arms. The assassin could tell the agent was shocked at first but soon she returned it with just as much strength, neither of them really wanting to let go. They eventually pulled away and Natasha smiled before turning to Carol.<br/>"Thank you Carol."<br/>"No problem, We should probably get out of here though." They nodded and sprinted out, meeting up with everyone at the quinjet.<br/>"Tasha." Clint breathed a sigh of relief before giving her a quick hug.<br/>"Romanoff." Tony acknowledged with a nod of his head.<br/>"Im glad to see you're okay Miss Romanoff." Thor said enthusiastically.<br/>"Im glad you're in once piece." Steve said with a smile and Banner just nodded his head in her direction. Natasha smiled before they all got on the jet and headed back to the avengers tower. </p><p>Time seemed to drag by slowly as Natasha tossed and turned. No matter what she could seem to fall asleep. That's how she found herself in her workout outfit getting ready to start on the punching bag. She was so distracted by her thoughts she didn't hear the younger agent appear behind her.<br/>"Need a sparing partner."<br/>"Jesus fucking christ Hill." Natasha took a moment to breath before laughing softly.<br/>'You scared the shit out of me." Maria just laughed at motioned towards the ring. Natasha nodded, following her lead. <br/>It started slow and Natasha knew that Hill wasn't going all in.<br/>"Stop going easy on me Hill." Natasha growled. She dodged every punch Maria threw her and was instantly happier and the faster more harder pace. They were some of SHIELDS greatest agents, when they used to spar on the helicarrier, it used to draw the attention of everyone around them. The younger agents fascinated by the famed 'Black Widow', former Russian spy and 'Maria Hill', SHIELDS youngest Deputy Director fighting. Natasha was always grateful for the times she got to spar with Hill. They both knew how to fight and knew each other's limits, making them each others perfect sparring partners. Fighting with Clint was always fun but he always had a slight worry at the back of his mind about hurting his best friend. With Hill, Natasha didn't have that. They both knew that sometimes the only way to let out emotions or to gain control of them was to go all in.<br/>Natasha swooped Maria's feet out from underneath her, straddling her waist once she was on the floor, her arms rested either side of Hills head. They were so close, Maria could feel the heat radiating off the assassin. Her heart was racing and she could feel the blush creeping up on her cheek. Her feelings for the redhead seemed to surface before she could shove them back down and she felt herself longing to just lean up and break the distance between them. The red head adjusted her position on Maria, assuring that she had won but Maria's mind short circuited as she felt Natasha's core grind against her own. Natasha saw the way Hill's breath hitched and her lower lip tremble slightly. She was a super spy but she refused to let herself believe that Maria would ever like her like that. Besides, even if she was, Natasha couldn't do that. The whole, relationship thing. She was a ticking time bomb and she wasn't going to let Maria get caught in the blast. Maria tapped out, breathless and red in the face. Natasha offered her, her hand and pulled her up.<br/>"I- I'm going to go shower." Maria stuttered out, not able to meet her eyes. Natasha watched her walk out the room with a sigh. Her anxieties had calmed slightly but now she was left with an annoying sexual frustration. Groaning, she rubbed her eyes with the palm of her hand, making her way towards her room.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Party</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It had been a few days since they had arrived back to the tower and their late night sparring session. They hadn't been back long before they were all thrown into Tony's Party preparations. Maria managed to sneak away from the craziness to go searching through the Avengers tower with one person in mind. She'd been distant the last few days, staying out the way of everyone. The only person that had currently been able to speak to her was Clint.</p><p>The former S.H.I.E.L.D deputy director walked the hallways looking for the spy when she walked straight into Barton, causing her to loose her balance and fall on her ass.<br/>
"Hey Hill." he said with a smirk, offering his hand to help her up.<br/>
"Hey. Have you seen Nat?" She asked, brushing myself off.<br/>
"No, I haven't spoken to her since yesterday." Maria nodded and went to walk away.<br/>
"Hill?" She turned back around to face him. Something past over his face and he shook his head.<br/>
"Never-mind." She was going to argue back but finding Nat was more important.<br/>
She walked through every floor of the tower and even had Jarvis check the vents. If there one thing Nat was exceptionally good at it was staying hidden.</p><p>Maria found Nat curled up in a ball, sobbing quietly into her knees. The agents heart shattered into thousand of pieces. All the weirdness she was prepared to face after what had happened melting away instantly. <br/>
"Tasha?" She whispered softly. The assassin's head jerked to see who was talking to her.<br/>
"Mia?"<br/>
"Hey." No more words were spoken. Maria carefully climbed into the bed next to the redhead. It was something Nat only trusted her with, and Natasha moved to curl her head under the agents neck and Maria wrapped her arms around her.<br/>
"Do you want to talk about it?" A soft whisper came from the younger woman.<br/>
"I just. When I came to S.H.I.E.L.D I was closed off. I was strong. That woman could have got out of there today but I crumbled. I had a panic attack before they knocked me out. I'm weak Mia. All through the Red Room, we were trained to be strong, not to show fear or weakness." She let out a jagged breath.<br/>
"I'm going to talk and I want you to listen. You're not weak. You are the strongest person I know. When you first came to us at S.H.I.E.L.D you were so closed off. I can't tell you how proud I am of you. You've fought so many of your demons and have become the woman you never thought you could be. Having a panic attack isn't a sign of weakness, it's just a sign you've been strong for too long and need to take a break." Her fingers were carefully making their way through the bundle of red hair and she felt the assassins body relax against her own.<br/>
"Thank You, Mia."<br/>
"Always."</p><p>They laid in each other's embrace for a while before Natasha sat up, a soft smile on her face. "Help me into my dress?"<br/>
"Of course." Natasha smiled again, standing up to get it out of her wardrobe. Once they were both dressed, Maria softly interlinked their hands, pulling the red head towards the festivities.<br/>
"Do we have to socialise." Natasha groaned as Maria dragged her along and the deputy director just laughed.<br/>
"Yes we do." The two were separated by different members of the team as they entered, quickly whispering a promise to meet back up later as they were pulled away. </p><p>"Well, you know, the suit can take the weight, right? So I take the tank, fly it right up to the General's palace, drop it at his feet, I'm like, "Boom! You looking for this?" Maria tried to hide her smile as Tony and Thor looked at him blankly.<br/>
"Boom! Are you looking..." Why do I even talk to you guys? Everywhere else that story kills."<br/>
"That's the whole story?" Thor asked unimpressed.<br/>
"Yeah, it's a War Machine story."<br/>
"Well, it's very good then. It's impressive."<br/>
"Quality save. So, no Pepper? She's not coming?" Rhodes asked turning to stark.<br/>
"No."<br/>
"Hey, what about Jane? Where are the ladies, gentlemen?" Maria said with a smile.<br/>
"Well, Miss Potts has a company to run." Tony said proudly.<br/>
"Yes, I'm not even sure what country Jane's in. Her work on the convergence has made her the world's foremost astronomer." Thor countered and Maria and Rhodes shared a look. They knew where this was going.<br/>
"And the company that Pepper runs is the largest tech conglomerate on earth. It's pretty exciting."<br/>
"There's even talk of Jane getting a... um, uh... Nobel prize."<br/>
"Yeah, they...they must be busy because they'd hate missing you guys get together. " Maria said, pretending to cough/<br/>
"Testosterone! Oh, excuse me."<br/>
"Want a lozenge?" Rhodes laughed<br/>
"Um-hmm."<br/>
"Let's go. "</p><p>Natasha couldn't help her wandering eyes as they found themselves trailing up and down Maria's figure. She tore her eyes away when she realised, feeling a blush creep up onto her cheeks and she headed for the bar. Pouring herself a drink, watching as Maria excused herself from the group she was talking with to join the spy.<br/>
"How did a nice girl like you end up working in a dump like this." Maria smirked as she leant against the bar.<br/>
"Gal done me wrong."<br/>
"You've got lousy taste in women kid."<br/>
"She's not so bad. She can have a temper at times, and she always puts up her walls." Natasha slid over a glass of alcohol, already starting to make another for herself.<br/>
"But deep down she's all fluff. Fact is, she's not like anybody i've ever known." Natasha dared to look up and was met by Maria's eyes, staring intently into her own.<br/>
"All my friends are fighters, and here comes this gal, who spends her life avoiding the fight because she know she'll win." She smirked at the raven.<br/>
"She sounds amazing." Maria smiled, taking a sip from her drink.<br/>
"She's also a huge dork, chicks dig that." Maria turned her head away for a second to hide the smile she couldn't stop from breaking through.<br/>
"So what do you think? Should I fight this or run with it?" Maria's nervousness started to show through and Natasha smiled softly. It was a side to the other woman only she was allowed to see.<br/>
"R-run with it? Or did he- was he. What did he do that was so... wrong to you?"<br/>
"Not a damn thing. But never say never." Natasha grinned, picking up her drink and slyly walking away, leaving Maria a flustered mess.</p><p>"It's nice." Steve's voice startled the agent.<br/>
"What, what, what is?" Maria feigned innocence.<br/>
"You and Romanoff."<br/>
"No, we haven't. That wasn't..."<br/>
"It's okay. Nobody's breaking any by-laws. It's just, she's not the most... open person in the world. But with you she seems very relaxed." Maria let herself smile softly. Having the knowledge that she was one of the few people that got to see this side of Nat, gave her butterflies.<br/>
"No, Natasha, she...she likes to flirt."<br/>
"I've seen her flirt, up close. This ain't that. Look, as maybe the world's leading authority on "waiting too long", don't. You both deserve a win." Maria smiled as he walked away before his words hit her.<br/>
"Wait, what do you mean, 'up close'?"</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Gatecrash</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The party soon died down as everyone started to head home for the evening. Carol being among them after needing to head off earth again. Soon just the eight of them were left. Maria was sat in the floor, leaning against the couch playing a friendly game of poker with Rhodes and Tony. Natasha was making small talk with Bruce, while cap watched Thor and Clint spoke about Mjölnir.<br/>
"But, it's a trick!" Clint announced.<br/>
"Oh, no. It's much more than that."<br/>
"Uh, "Whosoever be he worthy shall haveth the power!" Whatever man! It's a trick."<br/>
"Well please, be my guest."<br/>
"Come on." Tony edged, taking his focus away from the game at hand.<br/>
"Really?"<br/>
"Yeah!" Clint got up and walked towards the hammer as Rhode laughed.<br/>
"Oh this is gonna be beautiful."<br/>
"Clint, you've had a tough week, we won't hold it against you if you can't get it up." Tony teased and the rest of the team laughed.<br/>
"You know I've seen this before, right?" He tried to pick it up with a grunt before failing.<br/>
"I still don't know how you do it."<br/>
"Smell the silent judgment?" Stark joked.<br/>
"Please, Stark, by all means. " Clint motioned towards Mjölnir.<br/>
"Oh, here we go." Natasha said with a smirk, meeting Maria's eyes.<br/>
"Okay." Maria joked.<br/>
"Uh-oh."<br/>
"Um-hmm."<br/>
"Never one to shrink from an honest challenge." Stark said his overconfidence showing.<br/>
"Get after it." Clint spoke up.<br/>
"Here we go." Natasha laughed while Maria moved to sit by her side.<br/>
"It's physics."<br/>
"Physics!" Stark's hand gripped the handle.<br/>
"Right, so, if I lift it, I...I then rule Asgard?"<br/>
"Yes, of course."<br/>
"I will be re-instituting Prima Nocta."His first attempt at lifting it failed.<br/>
"I'll be right back." He came back in wearing his armoured hand. His second attempt also failed. Rhode grabbed his own armoured hand before joining the billionaire.<br/>
"Are you even pulling?" Rhode questioned<br/>
"Are you on my team?" Tony bit back.<br/>
"Just represent! Pull!"<br/>
"Alright, let's go!" Their attempt failed, Banner went next, also failing to lift the Asgardian weapon.<br/>
"Huh?" Steve stood up next.<br/>
"Let's go, Steve, no pressure."<br/>
"Come on, Cap." He pulled at the handle but it didn't budge.<br/>
"Nothing."<br/>
"And?"<br/>
"Widow?" Bruce turned to Nat.<br/>
"Oh, no no. That's not a question I need answered."<br/>
"I'll help." Maria whispered softly into her ear, feeling the agent tense slightly next to her.<br/>
"Okay, one go." She stood up with Maria and they gripped it together. Giving each other a small nod before pulling at it. It budged slightly however no one but Thor noticed. He smiled slightly. It didn't surprise him the women were worthy. He had seen hem both in action. Still he didn't say anything as they retreaded with a laugh.<br/>
"All deference to the man who wouldn't be king, but it's rigged." Tony accused. <br/>
"You bet your ass." Clint laughed along with him.<br/>
"Steve, he said a bad language word." Maria joked from Natasha's side.<br/>
"Did you tell everyone about that?" Steve said, aiming his words at Stark.<br/>
"The handle's imprinted, right? Like a security code. "Whosoever is carrying Thor's fingerprints" is, I think, the literal translation?"<br/>
"Yes, well that's, uh, that's a very, very interesting theory. I have a simpler one." Thor stood up, grabbing Mjölnir and flipping it in his hand.<br/>
"You're all not worthy."  There was a chorus of disagreement from the group when a high pitched screeching noise broke out, causing everyone to cover their ears.<br/>
"Worthy?" A unknown voice spoke out. Everyone was immediately on guard. A robot made its way into their view.<br/>
"How could you be worthy? You're all killers."<br/>
"Stark?" Steve asked worriedly.<br/>
"JARVIS?" Tony called out but there was no response from the AI. <br/>
"You took something that belonged to us. Multiple things but i'm only here for one." Maria couldn't help but let her hand go out slightly in a protective manner. She got the innuendo. They all did. Natasha had been in their grasp and they'd gotten her back. Multiple robots broke through the walls coming to fight them. Guns were drawn and soon everyone was fighting. <br/>
"Maria!" Nat let the cry rip through her body at the sight of the agent being flung against the wall. She made her way towards the agent.<br/>
"Ughh." Maria let out a groan and Natasha was at her side instantly.<br/>
"Mia?"<br/>
"I'm okay. I'm okay." She tried to reassure the spy, sitting up. She had lost her shoes at some point and the glass sticking out the bottom her her feet were obvious.<br/>
"Go help. I can't do much." Maria said and Natasha nodded, letting her eyes quickly drift over Maria to check for more injuries. She got back up and fought along side the rest of the team. <br/>
They were all on their asses when the robot came back, holding Loki's staff.<br/>
"This has been fun but we will be off." The few remaining robot fighters flew off.<br/>
"We'll be back for you later." He said in Natasha's direction before following the others into the sky. <br/>
"JARVIS?" Tony called out again.<br/>
"I have to apologise sir. The intruder managed to hack my mainframe and shut me down until he left." Tony sighed, we need to figure out if he took anyone else. He took a look around at the team and the destroyed living area.<br/>
"Lets get everyone up to the lab. We can get everyone cleaned up without risking anymore injuries." The team nodded and Natasha made her way back to Maria's side.<br/>
"Do you mind if I carry you?" Maria just nodded. She hated not being able to carry herself but with the glass still stuck in her feet and her back aching from being thrown into the wall, she could only agree. Natasha gave her a small smile before picking her up bridal style. Maria's hands tucked behind Natasha's neck as she leant into her. A blush formed on the assassins face as she tried to push down the sparks she was feeling from the contact. </p><p>"I don't think they took anything else." Tony said worriedly, taking a look around the room. Natasha was sat next to Maria in one of the deputy directors old hoodies. The younger woman was gently pulling glass out of her feet and nursing a glass of whisky. Banner was looking through some more files to see if anything had been looked into. Steve and Rhode were lost in their own thoughts as Clint stared hard at the ground. Thor walked in with a sigh.<br/>
"There was no sign of them. Was anything taken?"<br/>
"Not to our knowledge." Tony informed.<br/>
"I recognised it." Natasha said quietly.<br/>
"What?"<br/>
"The robot. I knew i'd seen it somewhere. It was in the HYDRA base I was being kept at."<br/>
"It said it would be back for Natasha, maybe because it knew she saw it at the HYDRA facility? With what we know, can we say that it's working either with or for HYDRA?" Maria asked, worry coating her voice. The idea of loosing the agent again terrified her. The room was a deadly quiet.</p><p>
  <strong>
    <em>Thousands of miles away</em>
  </strong><br/>
<strong>
    <em>Location: Classified</em>
  </strong>
</p><p>"Is she ready to comply?"<br/>
"She is."<br/>
"Good. Then prepare. The Avengers will fall to our mercy." </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Dreaming</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"Slight feeling of De ja Vu here." Tony joked over the intercom as they raided another HYDRA base. It had been a week since the attack on the tower and they had finally got another lead on the sceptre. Maria, Banner and Stark had been doing serious research into what and who they were up against. HYDRA had branded the robot Ultron and that wasn't the least of their concerns. What worried them most was the enhanced woman they had in the field. It wasn't too hard to get inside the base. Since their first raid, HYDRA's defences had weakened. Things started to go south very quickly.<br/>
"You were right, they have an enhanced." Thor said worriedly into the comms. She seems tried to mess with my mind. Be careful, you mortals might not be able to fight it."<br/>
Steve had been hit next, taken down with memories of what could have been his life after the war.<br/>
Tony was shown the avengers. Dead, all of them by his hand. Banner had stayed behind on the Quin-Jet with Hill leaving everyone but Clint down.<br/>
Natasha was the last to be hit. Her mind plagued with daunting memories of the red room and all they had made her endure. It was a part of her life she wised she never had to relive but there was nothing she could do as her mind succumbed to the mental manipulation. Clint heard as one by one each of his team members were attacked by the enhanced. He felt her presence behind him before sticking an augmented arrow on her head that would stop her for enough time to get the team out and in the air. He raced around the corner to find his partner sat at the bottom of the stairs.<br/>
"Hill! We need backup!" Clint yelled down the comms, holding a trembling Natasha in his arms. Banner and Hill had been with them in minutes, helping transport each member of the team to the Jet. Clint took over flying, claiming he had a place he could take them. Maria hadn't left Natasha's side. Her eyes were still tinted red and her body still shaking. It had scared her at first, seeing the agent look so beat down. No one spoke, every one still caught up on what had happened.<br/>
"Maria?" Maria looked down at the broken whisper of her name to see Natasha staring up at her.<br/>
"Hey. It's okay. Clint's taking us to his house. You're safe." Natasha seemed to accept that because she curled up, letting her head rest in Maria's lap before drifting off to sleep. Tony had explained what they had seen and Maria was instantly filled with terror. Natasha's past was filled with so many demons, and she hated to think about what memory or fear she was forced to live through. </p><p>They landed early the next morning and Maria helped Natasha walk out of the jet, keeping her arm securely around her waist. The team was solemn and quiet as they approached the house. All of which turned to surprise very quickly.<br/>
"Honey, I'm home." Clint called out. Maria and Natasha were the only two not surprised by the sight of a very pregnant Laura coming around the corner.<br/>
"This is an agent of some kind." Tony accused as Clint gave Laura a hello kiss.<br/>
"Gentleman, this is Laura."<br/>
"I know all of your names." She said with a smile. The sound of small feet caused them all to turn to the doorway.<br/>
"Incoming."<br/>
"And those, are smaller agents." Tony said again as they welcomed Clint home.<br/>
"Did you bring aunty Nat?" Maria saw the spy's face light up at the question and it made her heart warm.<br/>
"Why don't you hug her and find out?" She picked Lila up and hugged her close.<br/>
"Hi auntie Maria." Lila said from Nat's arms and Maria smiled.<br/>
"Hey little one." Natasha walked over to Laura to give her a hug.<br/>
"Sorry for barging in on you." Cap apologised.<br/>
"Yeah, we would have called ahead, but we were busy having no idea that you existed."<br/>
"Yeah, well Fury helped me set this up when I joined. He kept it off SHIELD's files, I'd like to keep it that way. I figure it's a good place to lay low." Natasha put Lila down and walked over to give Laura a hug.<br/>
"Honey. Ah, I missed you."<br/>
"I missed you too, How's little Natasha, huh?" She smiled, softly holding Laura's baby bump.<br/>
"She's…Nathaniel."<br/>
"Traitor." Maria smiled at the small interaction. The Barton family were like her own and she seemed so much calmer here than she did on the Jet. Laura held her hand out for Maria and brought the agent into a hug. Clint and Natasha often brought her with them during the holidays so she's gotten to know the family well. Thor walked out and Cap followed before the sound of Thor flying off filled the room. </p><p>"See, you worried for nothing. Can't even feel the difference, can you?"<br/>
"If they're sleeping here, some of them are gonna have to double up. " Clint laughed.<br/>
"Yeah, that's not gonna sell."<br/>
"What about Nat and Hill? How long has that been going on?" Laura had always noticed the connection between them, even when her husband and the two women couldn't. But something seemed to have changed from the last time. Their connection, it seemed stronger. From their not so secret glances to Maria's lingering touches. It seemed that she was fearful that if she let go of the assassin for even a second, she would disappear before her eyes.<br/>
"Has what?"<br/>
"You are so cute."<br/>
"Nat and...and Maria?" Clint asked.<br/>
"I'll explain when you're older, Hawkeye."<br/>
"Oh. Okay."<br/>
"It's bad, right? Nat seems really shaken. I don't think I've ever seen her this shaken and I've stayed up with her after her nightmares." Seeing the whole team shaken was scary but seeing Natasha as scared and shaken as she was, terrified the mother.<br/>
"Ultron has these allies, these uh, kids, they're punks really. They carry a big damn stick and Nat took a serious hit. They made her live through those nightmares. Someone's gonna have to teach 'em some manners."<br/>
"And that someone be you. You know I totally support your Avenging, I couldn't be prouder. But I see those guys, those "Gods"..."<br/>
"You don't think they need me."<br/>
"I think they do. Which is a lot scarier. They're a mess."<br/>
"Yeah. I guess they're my mess."<br/>
"You need to be sure that this team is really a team and that they have your back. Things are changing for us. In a few months time, you and me are gonna be outnumbered. I need...just be sure."<br/>
"Yes, ma'am."<br/>
"I can feel the difference." She mumbled as she held her husband close.</p><p>Natasha was still reeling from the effects of the hallucination as she climbed out of the shower. Letting the robe hug her body as she wiped the mirror with her hand, staring at her reflection. Maria looked up as she walked out of the bathroom.<br/>
"I didn't realise you were waiting." Nat said softly.<br/>
"I would've joined you, but uh, it didn't seem like the right time." Showering together wasn't a rare occurrence for the two, especially at the barton household. It saved water and it grounded them both after tough cases.<br/>
"There's no hot water left. So many people used it up." She laughed softly but it still sounded sad.<br/>
"I should've joined you." There was a calm silence between them for a few moments.<br/>
"It's probably not the best question but, are you okay?"<br/>
"I had this, um, dream. The kind that seems normal at the time, but when you wake..."<br/>
"What did you dream?"<br/>
"That I was an Avenger. That I was anything more than the assassin they made me."<br/>
"Nat-"<br/>
"I know what you're going to say." She sat on the bed next to Maria and they tuned to face each other. Maria let her hand rest softly on Natasha's cheek and wiped away the tear that had silent started to fall.<br/>
"In the Red Room, where I was trained, where I was raised, um, they have a graduation ceremony. They sterilise you. It's efficient. One less thing to worry about. The one thing that might matter more than a mission. It makes everything easier. Even killing."<br/>
"I'm so sorry Natasha." She pulled her into a hug and held her tight. Natasha tensed at the affection before leaning into it and letting herself cry letting herself let out all the pain that had built up. Maria didn't say anything, she just let her hand softly trace patterns on the assassins back, hoping to bring her any comfort she could.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Safe House</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"Ultron took you folks out of play to buy himself time. My contacts all say he's building something. The amount of Vibranium he made off with, I don't think it's just one thing."<br/>
"What about Ultron himself?"<br/>
"Ah. He's easy to track, he's everywhere. Guy's multiplying faster than a Catholic rabbit. Still doesn't help us get an angle on any of his plans though. It seems though someone is pinpointing his locations onto a secure website though."<br/>
"Do we have an ally?" Natasha asked. Her hand had slowly found its way into Marias as the other woman drew gentle patterns with her thumb on the back of it.<br/>
"Ultron's got an enemy, that's not the same thing. Still, I'd pay folding money to know who it is."<br/>
"I might need to visit the old Russian base, find our if 'unknown'. was there."<br/>
"Well, this is good times, boss, but I was kind of hoping when I saw you, you'd have more than that."<br/>
"I do, I have you. Back in the day, I had eyes everywhere, ears everywhere else. Here we all are, back on earth, with nothing but our wit, and our will to save the world. So stand. Outwit the platinum bastard.<br/>
"Steve doesn't like that kind of talk." Natasha laughed and Maria just grinned.<br/>
"You know what, Romanoff?"<br/>
"So what does he want?"<br/>
"We know he has Loki's sceptre, and other than saying he wants Nat. We have no idea." Maria explained.<br/>
"We need a game plan. If ultron is this powerful, we need to be one step ahead of him. I'll drop you off at the tower Banner. Do you mind if I borrow Ms. Hill?"<br/>
"She's all yours, apparently. What are you gonna do?"<br/>
"I don't know. Something dramatic, I hope."<br/>
"I'm gonna finish re-flooring that sunroom as soon as I get back." Clint said as he said goodbye to Laura.<br/>
"Yeah, and then you'll find another part of the house to tear apart."<br/>
"No. It's the last project. I promise. "<br/>
Maria pulled Natasha off to the side.<br/>
"Promise me you'll stay safe?" She whispered into the darkness of the night.<br/>
"You know me Hill." She tried to joke but the worry in the other woman's eyes stopped her.<br/>
"I promise Masha." Maria leant her forehead into Natasha's. She wanted nothing more than to just pull her in and Kiss her, beg her to come back with her and Banner but she knew Nat.<br/>
"I'll come home to you. I promise." Natasha whispered softer than Maria had ever heard her speak. They eventually broke apart, heading onto the separate Quin-Jets.<br/>
"We need to double search that base, find anything we can on the enhanced or Ultron."</p><p>They searched for what felt like hours before Natasha came across a file.<br/>
"Guys, I found something."</p><p>Tony dropped the file on the table. After grabbing what they could, they'd met back up with Maria, Banner and Fury.<br/>
"The enhanced. Wanda Maximoff. Her twin brother Pietro was killed by Hydra. Both were kidnapped at age ten and experimented on. Her brother died in the experiment and HYDRA convinced his sister that we were the cause of her brothers death." Tony explained.<br/>
"That explains why she's willingly working for them."<br/>
"What did you guys find?" Natasha asked.<br/>
"Loki's sceptre, we have reason to think they're using it to make Ultron stronger."<br/>
"Do they ever stop with the whole world domination thing?" Tony asked sarcastically.<br/>
"Not in all the years i've fought them." Steve replied.<br/>
"Do we know where they're located?"<br/>
"Sokovia."</p><p>They were back on the Jet almost instantly.<br/>
"I want to get the girl." Natasha announced.<br/>
"What?" Tony turned to face her.<br/>
"Wanda. I know what it's like to be manipulated by people, to be made into something you're not. If there's any chance that I can save her, how can I not take that?"<br/>
"Then I'm going with you." Maria said at her side and Tony nodded.<br/>
"You two save the girl, we'll stop Ultron."</p>
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<a name="section0010"><h2>10. Together</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Maria and Natasha split from the rest of the team. The fortress was more of a maze than the last one, they searched through multiple rooms, each one coming up empty. They came to another room and Maria nodded, her gun ready as Natasha swung open the door. Natasha's heart dropped. There was a surgical bed in the middle of the room, multiple different syringes lined up next to surgical tools. Maria's eyes were drawn to movement in the corner of the room. When she looked over, she found Wanda, curled up in a ball, rocking herself. Natasha moved to her side.<br/>"Wanda?" She whispered softly. The girl reacted instantly, powers ready to fight them.<br/>"Hey, it's okay. It's just us. We're gonna put our guns on the floor where you can see them, okay?" They both laid down their weapons, and Maria slowly sat down in front of her.<br/>"They were. They. They said they had to do more experiments, and then they heard your team and left me." Her voice came out broken and afraid.<br/>"It's okay. We came here to take you away from them. There was slight hope in her eyes before it was quickly flushed out.<br/>"But. No. You guys killed my brother."<br/>"Wanda, that wasn't us and we can prove it. Please, let us help you." Maria could see she was waging a war in her mind. Did she go with them, or stay. Eventually she nodded.<br/>"Please, get me out of here." Natasha offered her, her hand as she stood up. <br/>"We need to move quickly." The three ran back through the corridors, Maria taking up the rear in case anything ambushed them from behind. The ground shook before they could escape the building. The roof caved in and boulders fell in front of the doorway, trapping them in.<br/>"There's another exit." Wanda spoke, rushing ahead of them. Maria and Natasha shared a worried glance as they raced through the building behind the fleeting girl. They almost ran into her as she came to a stop at the end of a corridor. There had to have been at least 15 cells along both walls, each one containing at least 12 robot guards.<br/>"Shit." Natasha muttered as they all seemed to activate.<br/>"That's the only other exit." Wanda panicked.<br/>"They're trapping us in." Maria realised. <br/>"The only way out is by fighting them."<br/>"I can't. I can't" Wanda ran away panicked but before either agents could follow after her, they were surrounded by robot guards.<br/>"Well looks like we don't have a choice." Using whatever they had on them, they fought their way through the crowd. One of them got a hold of a sharp object, using the moment Maria's focus was on another to cut her arm. She let out a hiss before shooting it, using the butt of her gun to knock another to the ground. The crowd started to thin but it was still 13 to 2. She turned around just as Natasha was thrown into the wall, her head colliding forcefully colliding with the ground. <br/>"Natasha!" Maria cried, racing to her side.<br/>"Nat, please. Natasha." Tears welled up in her eyes. She could hear The robots being ripped apart behind her but her focus was too on Natasha to take notice of them.<br/>"I- I'm okay. I think. Hurts like a bitch." Hill let out a choked laugh pulling Natasha into a hug.<br/>"I thought i'd lost you."<br/>"Gonna take more than that to get rid of me." Natasha pulled away and let herself gaze into Maria's eyes. Her breath hitched as she slowly leaned closer, softly closed the gap, letting her lips softly rest against Maria's before pulling away. She looked at the raven, anxiety consuming her that she had ruined their friendship.<br/>"I'm sorry I-"<br/>"Natasha." She stopped talking at the sound Maria's voice.<br/>"Kiss me, please."<br/>Natasha pulled her back in, passionately locking their lips together, a moan escaping her. Maria leant into it, letting her hand slowly tangle into Natasha's hair. Their bodies moulded together on the cold tiled floor of the cell but neither cared as the world fell away around them and they indulged in their best dreams. Natasha's lips were soft against her own, heat radiating from both of their bodies. Maria opened her eyes, letting her thumb softly trail over Natasha's lips.<br/>"I've been waiting to do that for so long." Natasha smiled softly, biting her lip.<br/>"Let's get out of here." Maria nodded, standing up and offering her, her hand. Wanda stood behind them, using her powers to take down the last of the robots.<br/>"They don't control me." She said confidently and Natasha watched her with a smile.<br/>"You're right, they don't." Taking Maria's hand in her left hand, she grabbed Wanda's with her right, all three of them sprinting towards the Quin-Jet before anything else could trap them. The team joined them a few moments later. Sceptre and, robot in hand.<br/>"Decided to take a pet robot stark?" Natasha joked.<br/>"Hydra were making him. We don't know how or why but he turned against them. He got knocked out so we brought him with us." Steve explained.<br/>"You good Tasha, look like you took a hit? You too Hill." Clint asked as Maria realised she was still bleeding.<br/>"We're good." Maria smiled. Clint noticed the girl hiding behind Maria. He grabbed a blanket and slowly approached them.<br/>"Here." He held it out to her.<br/>"You must be Wanda, I'm Clint. That old man, That's Steve." Steve waved with a small smile.<br/>"The uptight one, Thats Tony."<br/>"Hey!" Tony replied with a chuckle.<br/>"That's Dr. Banner."<br/>"Hey Kid."<br/>"And that's Thor."<br/>"Good to meet you." She smiled at all of them before taking the blanket from Clint and wrapping it around her shoulders.<br/>"Thank you." Clint gave her one last smile before heading to pilot the Jet. It didn't take long for everyone to fall asleep. JARVIS was piloting which left only Maria and Natasha awake.<br/>"How's your arm?" Natasha had helped bandage it up once they got in the air before letting Maria check her for concussion. <br/>"Good, how's your head?"<br/>"It's been better." They both let out a soft laugh before a comfortable silence surrounded them. Maria let her hand gently come up to rest on Natasha's cheek before gently pulling her into a kiss. They pulled away breathless, letting their foreheads rest gently together before Natasha smiled.<br/>"Since I never got to ask earlier due to the killer robots, Maria Hill, would you like to be my girlfriend?"<br/>"I'd like nothing more."</p>
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<a name="section0011"><h2>11. Apartment</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>This chapter has an M rating because this is borderline smut if i'm honest. This is kind of a filler chapter so enjoy some domestic Blackhill :) x</p>
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    <p>Maria woke up with a small smile as she turned over to find Natasha. It had been a week since they had started dating and Maria had never been happier. They had decided to keep it a secret from the team, at least for the time being anyway. Wanda had been staying with them since they brought her back from the compound but was staying with Clint and his family for the weekend. Giving the two women a few days to themselves.<br/>
"Good morning sleepyhead." Natasha whispered out with a smile.<br/>
"Hi." She leaned up to capture Natasha's lips with her own. The red head let a moan full pass her lips and Maria moved to straddle her waist.<br/>
"I love it when you moan for me." She whispered with a smirk into Natasha's ear, causing the older woman to flip their positions. They both had the day of and agreed to spend it just spending time together.<br/>
"Do you now." She let her hands trail up Maria's body, finding their way under her shirt. She had taken her bra off last night, leaving her breasts exposed to the assassin. Maria tried her best to hold in a moan as Natasha fondled with her breasts. She leant down to Marias ear.<br/>
"God how I'd love to take you over every surface in this apartment, hearing you scream for me and come undone at my touch." That was all she needed to say for the woman underneath her to let out a moan.<br/>
"I'm going to hold you to that." Maria replied as Natasha smirked, removing one hand from her chest to trail it down her stomach, to the waistbands of Maria's shorts. She let her hand slide under it, pleased to find the younger woman was also without underwear. She let her fingers tease her folds before removing her hand, laughing at the whine that escaped the Deputy Director.<br/>
"Patience my darling. Now i'm going to make breakfast." The assassin climbed down from the bed and headed out to the kitchen. Maria laughed before joining her, wrapping her arms around her waist as she prepared breakfast. She thought it would have been awkward between them at first but it hadn't been. It was nice to be able to be like she was with Nat, carefree and herself. Natasha was surprise of her lack of panic urge of wanting to flee. She was so relieved when she discovered Hill felt the same about her but she was worried that the closeness would get too much, for both of them. At SHIELD, they were both stone faced, their walls high and strong. They were powerful women who had histories that only occurred in some peoples worst nightmares but their closeness had provided some much relief from that and they were both grateful. Natasha wasn't able to recount the last time she had got this close with someone. It worried her slightly that it would be used against her, that she would finally let herself be happy and Maria would be torn away from her but the Deputy Director eased her fears every time. It came as a surprise to both of them how comfortable they really were around each other, letting themselves unwind and be completely themselves for the other. And besides, seeing Maria Hill in only a pair of pants and Natasha's old hoodie was a sight to behold. The assassin let her gaze wonder up and down Maria at the thought, her heart missing a beat.<br/>
Natasha served up breakfast with a smile as Maria poured them both a glass of orange juice. They ate in a comfortable silence. Natasha's smirk growing as she saw Maria adjust at the position her her leg. During them eating, she had slowly edged herself closer, using her knee to spread the other woman's legs. </p><p>As soon as they finished breakfast, Maria pulled Natasha back into the bedroom, both giggling like schoolgirls talking about their crush. Natasha took charge, straddling Maria and slowly leaning down to kiss her.<br/>
"Are you sure?" She whispered softly and Maria's heart softened at the gentleness of her tone,<br/>
"More than, you?"<br/>
"More than." She repeated Maria's words back at her.<br/>
"Safeword?" Maria asked.<br/>
"Red for stop, Green for go?" Natasha replied and Maria nodded.<br/>
To say the deputy director was glad for the soundproof walls she had would be an understatement. The sounds that Natasha had pulled from her definitely would have earned her a noise complaint from the neighbours.<br/>
"Nat, Please."<br/>
"I can't hear you baby."<br/>
"Please, let me fucking cum Natasha." Natasha smirked.<br/>
"Come for me baby." Maria came undone around her for the fourth time that morning. Natasha rode out her high with her before curling up next to her, letting Maria taste herself on Natasha's fingers.<br/>
"That was so good." Maria breathed out with a sigh. She had made Natasha cum five times, an effort she was proud of. Seeing the assassin completely at her mercy, Maria's fingers deep inside her was enough to turn the agent on again. They finally dragged themselves out of bed and into the shower before washing and changing the sheets. They spent the rest of the day on the couch in their pajamas, eating junk food while watching movies. It was the happiest and most relaxed either woman had been in god knows how long. As the sun settled and the moon rose, Maria wrapped the blanket tight around them as she drifted off into a peaceful slumber, head rested on Natasha's chest as the assassin softly played with her hair.</p>
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<a name="section0012"><h2>12. Prentiss</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>This is kind of just a 4k+ words another filler chapter lol.<br/>SPOILERS: For 6x18 'Lauren' Of Criminal Minds. This isn't really an important chapter but it introduces why Emily will be appearing in future chapters, her relationship with Maria and a further in depth back story to Maria's history. x</p>
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    <p>The two SHIELD agents woke to the sound of a ringing phone. With a groan, the younger woman got up to answer it.<br/>"This is Hill." Natasha watched as all the colour drained from Marias face.<br/>"Masha?" She sat up and the woman dropped her phone.<br/>"I have. I need. I have to go." She stood up quickly before Natasha spun her back around to face her.<br/>"Maria. Talk to me."<br/>"My sister."<br/>"The one that works for the FBI?"<br/>"Yeah. You remember I told you about her going undercover?"<br/>"With Ian Doyle?"<br/>"Yeah. He escaped. He's picking off her old team one by one. The guy that called me, Clyde. He's worried Emily will be next. I have to get down there."<br/>"Let me pack a bag and we'll go together okay?" Maria nodded and leant into the hug Natasha offered her.<br/>"Thank you."  It didn't take longer than ten minutes for the two to have bags ready and be in the car for Virginia. She had already called Fury, the two had been given permission to take however long they needed off. Wanda was staying with Clint and with a quick phone call, he promised to take care for her as long as they needed him too. They broke the speed law multiple times on the way there, Natasha knowing how much Maria's sister meant to her. The five hours it took to drive there were spent in silence, the only comfort being the hand Natasha had intertwined with Maria's. Once they were parked, Maria marched straight into the BAU office, Natasha running behind her.<br/>"That explains her behavior the past month. The secrets, the evasion."<br/>"She's been biting her fingernails again, too."<br/>"Guys."<br/>"She left her badge and gun? Why would she do that."<br/>"That doesn't make sense, why run? We're her family. We can help."<br/>"Doyle's killing families, she's not married, not close to relatives. He was ready to wipe us out. She ran, to protect us. She's a trained spy, she doesn't want to be found."<br/>"She knows all of our tricks. We don't know any of hers."<br/>"Alright, then how do we find her?"<br/>"Heres how, Ian Doyle is our unsub, Prentiss is our victim. We profile their behavior and we treat it like any other case. Because terrorism isn't an area we specialise in, I've reached out to an expert from the State Department... someone who can also shed light on Prentiss' past."<br/>"Who?"<br/>"Her."<br/>A blonde walked past the two SHIELD agents into the bullpen. Maria waited for them to finish their conversation before walking in. These people were Emily's family. She was protecting them like she was still protecting her.<br/>"She would hate to hear you calling her a victim." All eyes were on her as she walked in, Natasha at her side.<br/>"Who the hell are you?" The agent who seemed to be in charge asked.<br/>"Maria Hill." <br/>"Look, I don't know who you are but-"<br/>"Emily Prentiss. She is my sister." The team grew quiet.<br/>"Sister?" The younger male asked.<br/>"Yes." The team seemed to glance at the blonde who held out her hand.<br/>"Special Agent Jennifer Jareau, JJ." Maria shook her hand.<br/>"Emily told me about you. She couldn't say much of course." Maria nodded sadly. The blonde held her hand out to Natasha.<br/>"And that makes you-"<br/>"Natasha Romanoff." Usually they wouldn't be so open about using their real names, but Emily was at risk and it wasn't like SHIELD was much of a secret anymore. JJ nodded and gave them sad smiles before motioning to the rest of the team.<br/>"These are Special Agents David Rossi, Derek Morgan, Ashley Seaver, Dr Spencer Reid, our Technical Analyst Penelope Garcia and Our Unit Chief Aaron Hotchner." Maria smiled at them all individually. JJ lead them into the roundtable room and they all took a seat.<br/>"Okay, so I talked to a friend from Langley. He couldn't give me Emily's full CIA history, but he could give me this. She assumed the identity of Lauren Reynolds as part of a special task force called JTF-12." JJ explained.<br/>"I heard about them. They were profiling terrorists, weren't they?" Rossi asked. Maria and Natasha just sat in silence, they knew all of this already.<br/>"Yeah, assembled after 9/11. CIA and western agencies contributed their best and brightest." JJ continued.<br/>"But serial killers and terrorists have different personality traits." Ashley said.<br/>"How does Doyle fit in?"<br/>"He was their last case. And now the JTF is on his hit list. Jeremy Wolff was victim number 1, from Germany's BND. Sean McAlister at Interpol was the second. He's the one that brought the JTF in to work the Doyle case. He was murdered last week in Brussels with his wife and daughter. Tsia Mosely of France's DCRI. She got engaged to Jeremy earlier this year. After he died, she fled to D.C. And team leader Clyde Easter, British S. I.S. He hasn't checked in since Tsia's murder. He was also in D.C." Maria felt sick as JJ read out the list of names. Each one dead. She hadn't spoken to them in years but they had got along really well.<br/>"Did JTF make the arrests?"<br/>"No, the host countries handled that. The team moved on to the next case."<br/>"If all they did was deliver a profile, how does Doyle even know about them?"<br/>"Well, considering the shadowy nature of terrorist cells, they utilize a skill we don't... infiltration."<br/>"Who was undercover on Doyle?"<br/>"Emily. She made contact with him in Boston to get intel on Valhalla. She was posing as another weapons dealer."<br/>"Look at how she's dressed. She seems awfully comfortable." Maria scowled at Morgans tone, but at the squeeze of her hand by Natasha, kept her mouth shut.<br/>"How close did she get to Doyle as part of her cover?"<br/>"The recon they did on Doyle included a background of all of his romantic relationships. Emily was his type." JJ stopped talking and Maria let out a sigh. She was hoping they could have left this behind them.<br/>"When Emily first went undercover, There were a lot of safety risks." The whole team was staring at her now.<br/>"I was the only person in our family she was close with. She was worried someone would come after me so we agreed to cut all ties. We make contact around once a year using burners. After she came back, it stayed the same. We have always been close growing up. Growing up with the parents we did, we had to be. I was sent away by the ambassador when I was 15. We used to sneak out to meet up. With her line of work as well as mine, we both worried for each others safety. So we kept up the cover. We upped contact to three times a year. Her Birthday, My Birthday and Christmas." Maria explained. <br/>"I met with the JTF once. They're good people." <br/>"What is your line of work."<br/>"We work with a government organisation. The rest is above your clearance level." Natasha stepped in. Hotch nodded.<br/>"Morgan, Rossi. Head to Emily's apartment. We need to know if there's anything there that can tell us something. Maria, are you able to fill us in on any other details about Emily's case. We need as much information as we can get." Maria nodded.</p><p>"It's called a gimmel ring. The husband and wife-to-be wear individual bands during the engagement and at the wedding." Rossi explained.<br/>"You see the markings in the middle? Gaelic. Doyle gave it to her." Maria tightened her grip on Natasha's hand. If it wasn't for the fact that Emily considered him family, she would have ripped him a new one for taking that tone about her sister.<br/>"This ring is more than just a souvenir. Otherwise, why hang on to it all this time? Why hide it from us?"<br/>"I can explain that." Maria started, gaining the mens attention.<br/>"She felt guilty after she came back. There were parts of that mission even I don't know about. But I do know is that she felt guilty and she felt horrible. She kept that ring as a reminder of her past. A reminder to make sure she never felt like that again." Her tone was defensive as she glared at Morgan.<br/>"What makes you think she went to Boston?" Hotch asked Rossi breaking the tension.<br/>"The Doyle case started in Boston. Maybe she's going back to old locations to hunt him down."<br/>"If he had us in his crosshairs, she wouldn't run. She'd take the fight to him."<br/>Garcia rushed in a few moments later.<br/>"Sir, TSA got a hit on one of Clyde Easter's covers. He's on a plane to Boston as we speak."<br/>"Have him detained as soon as he steps off."<br/>Hotch left and a few moments later, Garcia reappeared, JJ on her six.<br/>"Hotch asked me to check all her numbers. It's an old listing but it's probably our best shot, I felt if you left a voicemail-" Maria nodded, taking the phone from her. Natasha gave her hand a reassuring squeeze.<br/>"Hey, it's me. I'm at the BAU. Hotch asked Garcia to try all your numbers, this is an old listing and who knows if you use it anymore but if you get this. Just come home Emily, please. God Emily what did you think? That these people, your family would just let you walk out of their lives. That I'd let you do this again? God! I can't loose you to this asshole again Emily. I am so furious at you right now. Then I think about how scared you must be, how you're in some dark place all alone. But you're not alone, okay? You are not alone. We are in that dark place with you. So please, come home. But I know you. And I know you need to do this for yourself as well as your family, so you stay alive. Please Emily i'm begging you to stay alive. I can't say goodbye to you again. It was hard enough last time. I love you. Please. Stay safe." The other three women had tears in their eyes at the sisters desperate pleas. She handed the Phone back to Garcia before tuning to her girlfriends open arms, sobbing softly into her chest. She didn't care if she was shoving vulnerability. Her older sister's life was on a line. Reid rushed in.<br/>"Hotch called in, we need wheels up." The four rushed out behind him. Once they were settled on the jet and in the air, Garcia pulled out the laptop and showed them the footage she had screamed at moments previous.<br/>"Emily walked into a trap. It looks like Doyle got into the SUV, but from this angle, you can see that he didn't, which I wish Boston P.D. Would have told me before I started watching it. Sorry again for the screaming."<br/>"She threw a flash-bang grenade into a car. She's lucky the three people inside didn't die. Is anybody else bothered by that?" Maria was really struggling to hold her tongue.<br/>"Well, three bad guys."<br/>"Illegal as it is, I think Prentiss knows she has to be as ruthless as Doyle." Maria's shoulders relaxed slightly at the words of the two older men. She still sent a death glare Morgans way and could feel Natasha doing the same next to her.<br/>"He's come to the U.S. to wage a public vendetta and hired a group of mercenaries to remain loyal to him. He has nothing to lose, so she has to act the same way." Reid spoke up and she gave the young genius a small smile which he happily returned.<br/>"So how did Doyle know she was waiting for him?"<br/>"The mole must have told him, right? The same guy who's been feeding Doyle the contractors and agents?"<br/>"And our best suspect was just arrested with a suitcase full of cash."<br/>"Easters not your mole. He's as protective of Emily as I am." Maria spoke up.<br/>"Still, how do we get him to talk? He won't cooperate willingly."<br/>"I'll handle that. The rest of you focus on Doyle's location."<br/>"I hate to be the one to ask this, but how long does Emily have?" Garcia asked and Natasha felt Maria tense at her side, trying not to let her emotions slip.<br/>"Her best chance is also the most troubling. Doyle saved her for last because he views her as his stressor, which means he'll take his time." Maria stared out the window at Hotch's words. She could feel the teams eyes on her but it didn't matter. All that mattered was finding her sister. </p><p>The jet touched down, Maria hadn't said a word, she'd just taken comfort in Natasha's touch. They made themselves comfortable in the conference room of Boston Pd when Garcia's Laptop chimed.<br/>"Maria, Natasha?" The two women turned to the Technical Analyst. The blonde slid over her laptop to reveal a message.<br/>"To Emily's dear sister." Natasha read out and she felt herself instinctively hold Maria's hand tighter.<br/>"There's a link." Garcia nodded and she clicked it, JJ, Reid, and Garcia all moving around to see it. Maria's heart dropped through her stomach instantly. It was a live feed of Emily tied to a chair in a dark room.<br/>"Where's my ring?" His voice sent chills down their spine and all Maria felt was dread. Garcia went to move the laptop away to spare them but Maria stopped her. She hated it more than anything but she needed to keep an eye on her. She needed to see her alive, even if that meant watching her get tortured. Natasha knew this and move their chairs closer so their knees were touching, hoping to provide some comfort.<br/>"I flushed it."<br/>"I spent seven years in hell because of that ring. So now I'm going to give you another gift, one you won't get rid of so easily. A four-leaf clover should be a nice addition to your other tattoos. You still have two, right?" Maria's free hand gently drifted to the piece of skin on the left side of her ribcage. The two had got matching tattoos just before she had left for the Army. Maria had 'Prentiss' and Emily had 'Hill'. A way for them to always be with each other in case worse came to worse.<br/>"Yep. And that's enough ink, thanks."<br/>"Ink? North Koreans can't afford ink. No, no. They brand themselves."<br/>"No!" Maria called out, tears welling up in her eyes as he ripped her shirt open, leaving her in just her bra before bringing out a soldering iron. The fear in her older sisters eyes scaring her even further. JJ let one hand rest on Maria's shoulder and another on Reids.<br/>"The more you fight, the more this will hurt." Maria buried her head into Natasha's chest. Each scream and cry of her sister making her nauseas and her heart shatter. It seemed to go on for hours and Maria couldn't stop herself from crying. She knew the others in the room were too. Once the screams stopped, the desolate sound of Emily's sobs filled the quiet. <br/>"Maria." The Deputy Director's head snapped up at the sound of her sister's shattered voice.<br/>"I don't know if he is actually sending this to you but on the chance he is. I'm sorry. I'm so so sorry." She was still crying and Maria wanted nothing more than to reach out and hold her in her arms and comfort her like Emily had done for her all those years ago.<br/>"I love you, so much okay. You were the best little sister anyone could ask for and I'm so proud of you. And I'm going to take a wild guess and say Natasha is there too. I'm so happy for you both. Take care of each other. I love you." With that the video feed was cut and Maria let out a choked 'no'. Garcia, JJ and Reid left the room, needing air and giving the two women time to themselves. None of them knew how to react. Emily Prentiss was a fighter but in that speech, she was saying goodbye. She had accepted her death and no one knew how to handle it. </p><p>It was around an hour later when a shot rang out, startling Maria. She had fallen asleep on Natasha after crying herself out. JJ walked in with a solemn expression. <br/>"Sniper on the roof. Seaver and Rossi are okay. They shot Fahey." Natasha nodded.<br/>"The team are bringing Clyde in here, he's working with her." Maria didn't reply, but she sat up straighter, brushing out her hair with her fingers.<br/>"We found out Jeremy was the mole." Maria let out a sarcastic laugh.<br/>"That doesn't surprise me."vThe rest of the team walked in, Clyde with them.<br/>"Hill."<br/>"Clyde." She stood up to greet the man with a hug.<br/>"It's good to see you again. I'm sorry it's under these circumstances." Maria nodded, sitting back down into Natasha's lap.<br/>"Ian Doyle's a power-assertive psychopath, highly controlling and very explosive when something doesn't go as planned." Clyde started<br/>"Okay, so how does this fit in with who he is as a family annihilator?" Hotch asked.<br/>"And Prentiss' role in it."<br/>"Annihilators have a romanticized view of who their family is."<br/>"Well, actually, he was an orphan."<br/>"They think of family as their possession until some law shatters that and starts them killing."<br/>"But Doyle was never married."<br/>"Children?" Morgan asked.<br/>"No."<br/>"You wrote in your profile that he carried out his murders with surgical-like precision." Spencer mentioned, file in hand.<br/>"Yes."<br/>"With no collateral damage?"<br/>"That's right."<br/>"Perhaps this child was a surrogate for one he had."<br/>"Say Doyle had a child and you didn't know about it. Is it possible that Prentiss did?"<br/>"Then why would she keep it from me?"<br/>"It would explain a lot. Why she slept with him and why she felt so guilty when she came back." Maria added. <br/>"Who else was in the compound the day that you arrested Doyle?"<br/>"Just his staff."<br/>"All Irish?"<br/>"Yeah."<br/>"That's a start."</p><p>"I got him! I matched Irish immigration records based on Doyle's employees. Declan Jones, he's the only boy who matches. He settled in Boston eight years ago. Adoptive guardian Louise Jones."<br/>"I knew Louise Jones. She was Doyle's housekeeper."<br/>"Are they still alive?"<br/>"Declan and his mother went missing seven years ago. Bodies were never found. Wait, what is this? Uh... God, someone took pictures of them being shot."<br/>"Is there an address?"<br/>"That looks like a warehouse." It's gotta be big enough to house a small army. That's weapons, supplies. Let's see, which means it has its own perimeter. Uh, I got it. 1518 Adams street."</p><p>"Wait, wait, look at that. Morgan, come look at this." Reid called out and they all looked closely at the pictures of Declan and Louise.<br/>"It's black clothing and a hand pointing a gun at their bodies, Reid."<br/>"No, look at the fingernails."<br/>"Oh, my God."<br/>"Thats-"<br/>"Emily." Maria breathed out.<br/>"She faked their deaths." Reid said.<br/>"She wanted Declan to have a normal life."Clyde said.<br/>"We need to get her, now. If Doyle believed these, she doesn't have much time." <br/>"Agent Prentiss is the only friendly in the building. Rescuing her is our primary objective. Our only advantage here is stealth. Once they know we're on site, there's nothing to stop them from killing her. So we keep it quiet until we get to her. "They rushed out after Hotch explained the plan. Maria stuck with Morgan as they arrived at the warehouse. She rounded a corner and her heart dropped.  <br/>"Emily." She cried out, rushing to her sister's side. Her hands were in handcuffs laid on her chest, just above a broken bit of table leg that had been staked through her abdomen. Her eyes were watered over.<br/>"We've got her! We've got her in the basement on the south side. I need a medic. Now!" Maria could hear Derek talking into his comm but her only focus was her sister. <br/>"Emmy." <br/>"Mia." Emily whispered out, her voice broken.<br/>"Hey, it's me. I'm right here. You're gonna be alright. Stay with me Emmy. Stay with me!" Maria cried, linking one hand with her sisters and using the other to gently brush her hair out of her face. She drew soft patterns in her forehead, a calming technique that they had used as children.<br/>"Let me go." Emily whispered.<br/>"No, no. I am not letting you go. Listen to me, I know you did all this for Declan. I am so proud of you, do you understand that. I am so proud of you. I am so proud to call you my big sister. I love you so much Emmy, you hear me." Her eyes started to close and Maria panicked.<br/>"No, Emily! Come on, stay with me. If you can hear me, please just squeeze my hand." She let out a relived cry and the soft squeeze.<br/>"Yes, there you go. There you go, Emmy. Just keep squeezing." Paramedics soon arrived and Maria refused to let go of her sisters hand. She saw and heard the pained cries of her sisters team as they saw her body being loaded into the ambulance, the table leg still staked through her abdomen. Natasha joined her in the back of the vehicle.<br/>"Hey." She whispered with a sad smile.<br/>"Na- sha?" Emily muttered out, her speech slurring.<br/>"Yeah, it's me." She held Emilys other hand that Maria didn't have. <br/>"Look. afer. mia." She mumbled out slowly.<br/>"I will, I promise." Emily let a smile cross her face. The next few moments were a blur as the two were pushed to the side of the ambulance as Emily's body convulsed and she started to flatline. The paramedic started CPR and Maria buried her head into Natasha's chest, not wanting to see her sisters lifeless body in front of her. The next two minutes were the most painful of her life and when she heard the Paramedics words, her entire body relaxed.<br/>"We have a pulse." The sisters were torn apart as they arrived at the Hospital and the two other women were moved to the waiting room as Emily was wheeled to surgery. The team showed up minutes later, taking their own seats in the waiting room. </p><p>Time lose all meaning. Maria didn't know how long they had been sat there for when JJ walked in with a desolate expression. She stood up hearing Garcia let out a broken 'no'. Her mind refused to believe what she knew what was about to be announced. <br/>"She never made it off the table."<br/>"No." Maria cried, sinking to her knees. Natasha cradled in her arms, her own tears freely rolling down her face as she whispered reassuring words into her girlfriends ear. She heard Spencer say something about not being able to say goodbye but the world was just melting into one around her. Hotch motioned for JJ, Maria and Natasha to follow him into a hallway out of the sight of their team. Natasha helped Maria walk out there.<br/>"Emily lost a lot of blood, but the doctors were able to stabilise her." Maria looked up at Hotch in confusion.<br/>"She has been airlifted from here to Bethesda under a covert exfiltration. From there she will continue her recovery until she is well enough to travel. A man named Fury got in touch with me. He assured me that Emily would be well taken care of and that she will be returning with you once she has made that recovery."<br/>"She's alive?" Maria let out a choked cry and hugged onto Natasha like a lifeline.<br/>"Fury has dealt with faking his death before. He will keep her safe." Natasha reassured JJ. She gave her a warm smile in return.<br/>"He told me to tell you that you are to stay with Emily and away from work until she is ready and well enough to come home with you. We do suggest that you should attend her funeral. We know it will be hard but it's important the rest of the world believes that Agent Emily Prentiss is dead, at least for the time being." Maria nodded, wiping away her tears.<br/>"Thank you, for looking out for her all these years." Hotch nodded and left the three women alone.<br/>"Babe, can you get me some water?" Maria asked and Natasha gave her a small smile before nodding knowing she needed time to talk with the blonde.<br/>"Of course, I'll be back in a bit." She kissed her gently on the side of the head before leaving the two women. <br/>"Here." Maria handed JJ a slip of paper with a number on it.<br/>"It's a secure line. If ever you need to talk to her while were away, don't hesitate to call." JJ teared up again and smiled gently at her.<br/>"Thank you." <br/>"I see the way you talk about my sister, I know you both have feelings for each other. Please, don't wait until it's too late." The blonde blushed and chuckled sadly.<br/>"I don't plan to. Once we catch Doyle,  I'm never leaving her side." The two parted ways with a hug and Natasha met Maria by the car.</p><p> </p><p>Although she knew the funeral was fake, seeing everyone there to grieve for her sister, seeing the coffin and the tombstone it made her question it. Emily's screams were still playing on a loop in her head. It had only been three days but she still couldn't bleach the sight of her sisters almost lifeless body from her mind. Emily still hadn't woken up but she was making progress. Natasha and Maria were making the four hour drive from New York to Bethesda after the funeral. Natasha didn't let go of her hand the entire time, knowing how real the whole thing felt. Maria had agreed to give a speech but now it was her turn to actually talk she regretted it. With a reassuring kiss on the head from Natasha, Maria walked up next to the Coffin.<br/>"Emily Prentiss was the bestest sister you could ever ask for. As children, we were the closest of friends despite the age difference. If ever I was upset, I could always count on her to make things better. She was the light of my childhood. Due to circumstances, we were only able to make contact very few times in the past few years, but we never let that break out bond and those calls were the most precious parts of my year. Emily Prentiss was the most loving, kind, brave and selfless woman you will every meet." Maria was struggling to hold back her tears as she turned to face the coffin.<br/>"I am so proud of you, and I love you, so much." She walked next to Natasha and the BAU team up to the coffin as they slowly placed their roses, watching the coffin be lowered into the ground. Once the funeral was over, she said her goodbyes to the BAU team. A familiar voice stopped her just as she was about to leave.<br/>"Maria."<br/>"I have nothing to say to you."<br/>"You're my daughter. I was hoping-"<br/>"No." Maria cut her off, her sadness and rage mixing into one.<br/>"You were hoping that what? Because one of your daughters is dead, you'll try and make yourself look good by pretending to care about the other one. Well shove it ambassador. You didn't care when you sent me away to live with a new abusive family, and don't pretend you ever gave a shit about Emily either." She walked away leaving the woman speechless. She couldn't care less. The only things she was worried about was getting to her sister.</p>
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